YuGiOh The Wakening
by Lunatigerstar
Summary: A tragic love story between Priest and Princess, the sacrifice a Pharaoh made, and a great evil that never dies. 5000 years later everything is happening again. Will it all end in happiness or tragedy? SetoOC RR!
1. Prologue Last Days

Disclaimer: You know the drill....Yu-gi-oh or anything related to Yu-gi-oh does not belong to me. All original characters are mines. You'll probably know which....so on with the show!

A/N: Hey Everyone! This is my first Yu-gi-oh fic ever, so please be kind! R/R! *For Updates see my profile!*

Prologue - Last Days

2500 BC - Old Kingdom Dynasty

The night was warm. A girl stood against the palace balcony. Her raven black hair swept against the wind and the stars shown brightly as ever as she gazed at them. But yet her expression showed despair rather then joy. It was a look as if there was nothing the world could offer to comfort her. She paused for a moment in deep meditation. Her head bowed low, staring contently at the Nile River, it glimmered with the stars. It was so heavenly, she wished it would last forever. 

She heard the sound of footsteps behind her, she didn't turn to look, she knew who it was already. 

"Your Highness...." the man bowed slightly even though her back was turned. 

"Why do you call me highness, my love?" she brushed the hair away from her face. 

"Because that is who you are" he said plainly.

"But not someone I want to be" she replied. "Curse my fate that I should have to bare it's joys as well as it's pains." her face set in undisguised distress. She turned to face him. His eyes ached when both of them met his.

"You still have another chance, away from pain and sorrow"

"Without you I will still be in pain. I go because it is my duty, and I will follow it until the end"

His eyes pleaded, his structure stood strong but inside his heart it crumbles. "Your father will not allow this...."

"I do not care about my father's confinement towards me. 

"Then I will not allow it." he objected.

She slowly walks up to him "You nor my father will stop me. You and I have a duty for our people. I will follow you until death." 

"Do not do this...." he pleaded.

"I must, a life without you would be unbearable. I love you." she embraces him, while he strokes her hair gently. She was too strong willed to be easily swayed.

"We will be together in the next life" he said, trying to comfort her. 

She smiles at him for his kind words, even though deep in her heart she is full of doubt. "This war will be over and we will go towards the heavens when it does"

Caressing her hand against his cheek, he bent slightly and kissed her passionately on their last days on earth. 

A/N: I know, I know....What's this got to do with Yu-gi-oh, other then the fact that it's set in Egypt!? *Ducks flying tomatoes* Who's the mysterious couple??? What war are they talking about??? *Hint: think Yu-gi-oh....* Don't worry, all will come in due time. The story will progress slowly. And everything will be revealed later on. I just thought I'd set the mood for something interesting. The next chapter will be longer and won't be so gloomy. 

I want lots and lots of R/R! Don't flame me though! I have a soft heart....


	2. Chapter 1 First Days

Disclaimer: Yu-gi-oh and anything related to Yu-gi-oh does not belong to me....yada...yada...yada....

A/N: R/R! 

Chapter One - First Days

Present Day....

"Vari your going to be late for your first day of school!" her mother called out. 

Vari, who was stumbling in the bedroom, dashes out quickly, grabbing a piece of toast on the table. 

"Bye Dad. Bye Mom!" she gave them both a peck on the cheek. 

"Have a good day at school. Remember don't be nervous!" her mother called out to her from the door. 

"I won't. I Promise!" Vari replied. 

Her fingers tapped on the office desk, annoyingly. First days were the worst. 

"Let's see here....looks like you've got quite an extensive record here. Says here that you've been transferred to 3 different schools in the past year." 

Vari shied away awkwardly "Yes well...when you've got parents as archaeologist you move around a lot." 

"True.... Your father is quite an historical researcher. Brilliant book he wrote on the Clashes of Civilizations" said the principal giving her a warm smile. "I bet it must have been exciting visiting places all around the world." 

Vari just shrugged, it was the same routine every time. "It gets a bit exhausting after a while" 

"Well since it's your first day at Domino High, I think escort you to your classroom. Let you get a chance to met with your new teacher and classmates" 

"Thank You sir"

Slowly getting up, principal Takashi ushered her out the door. Walking round and turning to the left corner he lead her to the classroom. Vari bit her lip. People would think that being transferred from school to school she would be use to it by now, but she still didn't like being the 'new kid' all the time. "Relax. Don't be nervous" she mumbled to herself.

Principal Takashi gave a small cough, trying to attract all the attention of the students. "Class I would like you to meet a new student attending Domino High....

Yugi, Tea, Joey and Tristen stroll through the hallways getting ready to leave school. 

"Just a minute I left my bio book in my locker" Joey said. 

"Alright, hurry up we're right behind you" Tristen replied.

The four turned the other way just to the other end of the hall. 

Suddenly Joey nudges Tristen's arm. "Hey isn't that the new girl?" Joey asks, glancing at Vari, who was stuffing her books into her locker. She had long raven black hair, tossing it away from her face.

"Yea, she's pretty cute" Tristen grins. 

"I think I'll ask her out"

Tristen laughs. "Please! Why would a girl like that go out with you, when she could be going out with a gorgeous guy like me?" Tristen smirked.

"Ya wanna have a bet on that!" Joey challenged. 

"Sure, no lady can resist the old Tristen charm"

"Alright! Thirty bucks says I can ask her out, before you even get a feet close to her" 

"You're on!" 

"Uh oh, what are those two up to now?" Tea asked

Yugi shrugs "I might be wrong, but I'm guessing it's got something to do with her" he said pointing at Vari. 

"Those two never stop do they?" said Tea rolling her eyes.

"They're going to use their old pick up line ploy" Yugi laughs.

"Not if I got anything to say about it." Tea grins "I think I'll go crash their party" following them from behind. 

Vari was furiously cramming her History Text into her locker. "This thing weights a ton!" she exclaimed as she tries to fit it in. There was a stir of pushing and shoving , turning around, she saw two guys coming towards her trying to knock each other down. The blond was elbowing the other in the face. Finally they reached an inch away, still ramming at each other. Pushing the other away the blond was the first to speak.

"Hey the names is Joey Wheeler. You new around here?" he said trying to sound smooth.

"Er...yes. I just moved here" Vari replied

"Your name's Vari right? We're in the same science class together"

"Oh I didn't realize that....I'm just starting to learn who's who. It's nice to meet you."

"Well maybe I could give you a tour of the school sometimes. You know, get you better acquainted"

Behind him Joey swear he heard a cough that sounded like "Loser"

"Er...." Vari looked at them puzzled.

"Excuse my simple minded friend here. He's had one too many whacks on the head with a sledge hammer"

Joey pulled up a fist threateningly "Tristen!"

Vari covered her mouth and giggled at the two, when she noticed another person, this time a girl walking up to them.

"Hey these two bothering you?" she asked

"We're not bothering her, we're just making friendly conversation" Joey said innocently 

Tea rolled her eyes. "Yea right....hey sorry about these two goof balls, they were dropped on their heads when they were babies."

Tristen and Joey scowled at the brown hair girl. Tea grabbed Joey by the ear and gave it a hard tug. 

"Now, now let's leave the poor girl alone"

"Ahhhh!" Joey yelped in pain "Hey! Quit it!" he cried out, trying to pry Tea's fingers off his ear. 

Tristen and Vari laughed hysterically. 

"WHY DIDN'T YA TO THAT TO TRISTEN!" Joey exclaimed furiously. 

"It's a habit" Tea said winking at Vari.

Vari, still shuffling a giggle "Oh it's alright. They're funny!" she smiled.

"See that she thinks we're funny" said Joey

"Yea...funny looking!" Tea replied. 

A figure walked behind them "Pathetic" he said. "How quaint....why if it isn't Wheeler the lost little puppy. See you haven't got any touch with women"

"Nice to see you still have your face Kaiba, if you can call it that!" Joey said angrily. 

"It's amusing that you haven't found your way to the animal shelter. Better watch your back Wheeler" Kaiba smirked.

Vari sense extreme tension. Tristen and Tea looked ready to hold Joey back.

"It's you who better watch it Kaiba!" 

"I shouldn't be wasting my time with a dog like you. Now If you'll excuse me I have a company to run" and with that he walked away.

Vari blinked "Who was that guy?"

"Seto Kaiba, he's a jerk off" Tea said annoyingly.

"Seto Kaiba? The Seto Kaiba? As in Duel Monsters World Champion!?"

"Yea, but I'm not impressed with his dumb credentials, I could take him on any day!" Joey exclaimed.

"Hey guys!" A short boy with tri color hair walked slowly up to them. "Was Kaiba giving a hard time again?" 

"Yea...but never mind that. Hey Yugi, like ya to meet Vari....What's your last name again? 

"Mayoto"

"Vari Mayoto" Tristen said.

"Hey it's nice to meet you. My name's Yugi Moto."

"Oh I forgot to introduce myself!" Tea exclaimed "Tea Gardener, and the other one here is Tristen." 

Vari gave a sweet smile "It's nice to meet all of you. Did you say your last name was Moto?" she asked curiously to Yugi.

"Yeah"

"Are you related to Solomon Moto?"

"Yeah, he's my grandpa. How'd you know?"

"My parents worked with him a while back in an archaeological site in Egypt." 

"No way! You know Yugi's grandpa? What a coincidence!" Joey exclaimed. 

"Hey you wanna come with us to the Turtle Shop? My grandpa runs the place, he might remember you. 

"Sure! I'd love to" and she walked out of school with her new found friends.

"Grandpa! I'm home!" Yugi called out as they walked into the shop. "And I've brought someone along with me!" 

Mr. Moto step out from the back of the shop. "Glad you're home Yugi. Who have you brought with you?" he looked curious. 

Vari stepped in front to be introduced. "Grandpa I like you to meet Vari Mayoto" 

"Vari Mayoto! Is that you little Vari? Why I haven't seen you since you were 8 years old!" Mr. Moto said.

"It's nice to see you again Mr. Moto"

"Grandpa, please, everyone else calls me that" he said chuckling. 

"Hey, how did you and Vari know each other?" Tea asked.

"Well to make the long story short, her parents and I worked in an archaeological site. We were uncovering the pyramids of Egypt. Remember Arthur Hawkins? He was with us too." 

"Oh yea, you and Mr. Hawkins were trapped when the pyramid walls caved in." Vari said. "I remembered my parents were really worried. Everyone was scrambling to try and find you!" 

"Yes, I remember your parents were the first ones to get us out of there." Grandpa said.

"Wow, that's some story" Tristen said.

"How is your father Vari? Last time I heard he made quite a name for himself. Brilliant historian, he could solve any mysteries that man." 

"Oh we're doing fine, we just moved back here so Dad could finish his work at the Research Center. They're trying to get a big grant. I'll be sure to tell him I met with you. I bet he'll love to hear form you."

"Wonderful! I'd like to hear from him too. We both have some catching up to do" Grandpa smiled. 

The clock ticked 5:00 "Oh! I have to go I promise my parents I'd be home by now" 

"Sure thing, see you at school tomorrow!" Yugi said. 

"Ok, bye!" said Vari as she walked out the door. 

"Mom, Dad! I'm home!" Her parents must be home. She could smell food cooking in the kitchen. Dropping her school bag on the floor she walked into the study. The walls were full of various antique swords, knives, and other assorted weaponry. One might think this was a training ground. Her father was there with a pile of books, maps, and translations spread on table. 

"Hey sweetheart, how was school?"

"It was OK, the teacher gave me a pile of homework to catch up in my classes." she gave a little moan "Looks like I'm going to have a busy night."

"Me too, I still have to crack these hieroglyphics. Tomorrow I'm going in early. I have to talk to Nyri, he's better with hieroglyphics then me." 

"What are you trying to translate?" 

"The carvings on the chest we found in the Pyramids of Giza. I'm so close, I could feel it!" 

"I know you can crack it. You always do."

"Thanks sweetheart" he kissed her forehead. "I've been thinking....It's not fair to you that we move around so much. I know I was too involved in my work."

"Don't say that Dad, you love your work...." 

He waved her comment off "I want you to enjoy the things in your life for more then just a couple of months. I'm going to take it slow from now on."

"Thanks Dad. I still love all those trips we took, I mean how many teenagers got to see the 15 different countries? You have to admit not many have parents like you." Vari laughed. "I still love you no matter what."

Her father smiled, he knew that he and Vari had a special relationship that no other father and daughter have. "That's what I love about you, you're so open minded.

"Hey guess who I saw today" Her father was in deep concentration staring at the copied hieroglyphics.

"Who?" he mumbled.

"Solomon Moto" 

All of a sudden his ears perked up. "Really!? Well that really is a surprise! How did you meet him?"

"It was kinda funny, his grandson Yugi goes to Domino High. He brought me along to his grandpa's shop."

"I'd like to meet with him sometime, well after all this, when I have free time" 

"Where's mom?" Vari asked all of a sudden, she just realized her mother wasn't around.

"Oh she went out to get some more potatoes, we're having stew" Just then they both heard the front door open. Her father gave a stretch from his stiff position. 

"Com'on let's go bug your mom when dinner's ready" he grinned.

A/N: *Ducks another round of flying tomatoes* Ok....so nothing much happened, don't sue me! I promise it will as the story progresses. This chapter is basically an introduction to my OC, added a little humor since the last was such an angst. The Plot will thicken, I promise. Please R/R *on her knees* R/R! R/R! 


	3. Chapter 2 Dealing With Duels

Disclaimer: Tell me how does it go again? Oh yea! everything Yu-gi-oh doesn't belong to me! 

Chapter 2 - Dealing With Duels

Vari let out a groan. It was only 4th period and she was already dead tired. She finished all of her extra homework last night, needless to say her teachers were quite impressed. _"Training at the monastery was much harder then basic algebra."_ Walking through the halls to her next class, she spotted Yugi, Tea, Joey and Tristan all together. They never seem to leave each other's side do they? _"It must be nice to have friends like that"_ she thought to herself, but what did she know? she didn't have any close friends at all because of her constant moving. It was always so hard to say good-bye.

Yugi spotted her across the hall. He ran towards her. "Hey Vari, how's it going?" he asked.

"It's OK I guess."

"What class do you have next?" 

"Hmmm...let's see...." she pulled out her schedule. She didn't have all of her classes memorized yet. "I have Math Honors"

"Oh...well, it says here you have 6th period lunch, you can sit with me and the gang if you want"

"I'd love to, thanks" Secretly she was relieved, she didn't want to sit alone again like yesterday. The sound of the bell rang, students started to pour out of their classrooms.

"Well, better get going. I'll see you later"

"OK, see ya Yugi" she waved good-bye. 

Walking to math class, she heard the late bell ring. Swearing, she dashed through the halls. After getting a little lost on the way, she finally found it. Quietly, she tiptoed in, hoping the teacher wouldn't notice while his attention was to the board.

"Miss Mayoto!" she winced at the sound of her name. "Care to tell us all, why you are late to class?" as he said this, everyone's attention diverted towards her.

"Well...I got a little lost..." she heard some of the students snicker. "I apologized Mr. Hiraku. I'm afraid I'm not fully acquainted with the school yet." she tried to look as innocent as possible, this teacher didn't look like a person you should mess with.

"I'll let you off this time, but next time I won't be so lenient" he said. "Go take a seat" 

Vari scanned the room, all the seats were taken, except for one....next to Seto Kaiba! Slowly, she walked to her seat and sat down. Trying not to look at the famous CEO of an industrial company, she couldn't believe a person like him would still be going to high school.

"You got off easy" he said, he didn't look directly at her.

"Are you trying to scare me?" she inquired.

He gave a smirk, it seemed to be his trademark. "Merely a warning" he replied.

"I attack with Dark Magician!" Yugi said. That drops Joey's life points to zero. 

"Awww....you beat me again!" Joey grumbled.

The five of them, all sat on the lunch table. Yugi and Joey were dueling while the others watched.

Yugi laughed "Sorry Joey, better luck next time."

Tristen grinned at him "You need more practice. Yugi is undefeatable."

"Are you into Duel Monsters?" Tea asked Vari.

"Just a little. I'm afraid I'm a tad rusty. I have my dueling deck with me though." she pulled it out for show. 

"Hey these are really great cards!" Tristan said impressed. "But there all in different languages! How do you read them?" 

"I wouldn't get them, if I couldn't read them silly. I collect them as I go around to different places"

All of a sudden Joey put on an insane grin on his face. "Hey I never really got to ask you out on that date...."

"And what about it? Vari said, giving a mocking look. 

Joey's grin got that much wider "How about a duel? If I win I take you out on a date"

"Isn't that a little unfair Joey? You _were_ second place at Duelist Kingdom...." Tea said

"Hold on Tea" Vari held up her hand. "And what if I win?" she asked the blond.

"Hmm....well....I'll give you my rarest card, how about that? Which is the Time Wizard" 

"Uh...Joey, you think that's such a good idea?" ask Tristen. 

"Quit your fussing, I got this one in the bag" Joey whispered to him.

"Alright I accept" Vari said.

Both of them placed their cards on the table, after shuffling each other's deck, the two drew five cards each.

"I'll start us off. I place one card face down in defense mode and two face down cards." she said, putting her cards down on the table.

"Then I'll also place one face down card and bring out Masaki the Legendary Swordsman in attack mode! Attack the face down defense monster!

"Damn!" Vari said, as her Swordsman of Landstar was sent to the graveyard. 

"Luckily, since it was in defense mode you don't loose any life points"

"Yea luckily. I'll place this card face down in defense and another face down card on the field, and end my turn"

"Aww come on! You're just going to play defense the whole game?"

"Be patient Joey."

"Alright.... I play Island Turtle in attack mode, Masaki the Legendary Swordsman attack the face down defense monster!"

"Too bad Joey" Vari flipped up her card. Man-Eater Bug "Your monster gets destroy as well."

"I still have Island Turtle which leaves your life points wide open for attacking."

"Wrong again Joey. You forget I have other face down cards as well. And I play Waboku, negating your attack!"

"Damn it!" Joey cried out. "You're trickier then I thought."

"It's mine turn to go on the offensive. I bring out Ancient Elf in attack mode, and play Book of Secrets Arts increasing it's attack and defense by 300. Attack the Island Turtle!"

Joey's life points went down to 1350. "Nice move" he said "I think I'll bring out King of Yamimakai, and play this magic card, Dark Energy, giving it even more attack strength, up to 2300. Attack Ancient Elf!" Vari's life points came down to 1450. 

"Awww shot! Good come back Joey. I guess I'll have to play Sword Hunter"

"Sword Hunter!?" 

"Yep! And I'll play De-Spell, just to get rid of that Dark Energy of yours. Attack King of Yamimakai!" Joey's life points went down even lower to 900.

"No!" he cried out, but Joey wasn't going to give up that easily. He drew out a card, he face suddenly turn into a wicked grin. "Great this is just what I need! I play Change of Heart, taking control of your Sword Hunter!" but Vari seemed unfazed by this.

"Sorry Joey...." Vari flipped up another face down card.

"Another Waboku!? Awwww...." Joey grumbled. 

"That's not all! I play Tremendous Fire, which inflicts 1000 direct damage to your life points, while I only loose 500 life points." His life points were zero now.

"I lost...." Joey said in disbelief

"I guess it was luck" Vari answer.

"That ain't no luck! That was pure skill!" Joey said. "You've been playing me all along haven't you?" 

Vari gave a wide smile "Honestly it was luck!"

"I don't believe you. I guess this card is yours...." Joey pulled out the Time Wizard out of his deck. 

"Keep the card Joey, I don't want it."

"Well eh....do we still get to go out?" he ask grinning.

"Don't push it" 

Tea, Yugi, and Tristen let out a round of sniggers. "Hey it was still worth a shot" Joey said.

At the same time another duel was being played.

"I attack your Swamp Battleguard with my Blue Eyes White Dragon! White Lighting Attack!" 

The jock's life points dropped to zero. "No!" he banged his fist hard on the table.

"I warned you that your amateur moves would never be a match to mines! Now if this is over I'd like to spend my time on something constructive rather then with a pitiable, dim-witted organism like you."

The jock's face grew with intense fury. "You think you're so tough!? Huh punk? Let's see how tough you are when I do this!" with all his might he gave a full blown punch to Seto's stomach. Before he could act, Seto took the hit and went flying towards the ground. The jock gave a vile sneer in satisfaction. Seto crumpled on the floor by the unsuspected sudden hit. Trying to get up, he threw his fist in the air, giving the jock an upper cut right on the chin. 

A chant could be heard just from over the other side of the cafeteria. The crowd howl out "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

"What's going on over there?" Tristen asked

"I have no idea" Yugi said.

The group looked over, there was Kaiba, who looked more menacingly then normal, clutching onto his stomach. The other by his side was a husky looking jock. They stood in fighting positions. If looks could kill then the jock would have been dead by now. 

Vari stood up suddenly and ran over towards the fight. 

"Hey where she going?" Joey demanded.

"Com'on guys!" Yugi said, they followed.

"You're going to be sorry, for that!" screamed the jock. "Let's get'em boys!" Without warning three others stood up from their table. All with the same kind of foul sneers on their faces. Together they grabbed a hold on Seto. He couldn't move, couldn't escape, as their leader prepared to beat him into a bloody pulp. 

"Hey!" Vari ran over to them before his fist touched Seto's face. "Why don't you run along and leave him alone!" she shouted out. 

"This ain't none of your business!" The jock towered over her, he was almost twice her size and looked as if he could easily squash her as well.

"I'm making it my business!" she said 

"Is that a threat? I'll be more then happy to rearrange that pretty little face of yours!" 

"I would love to see you try!" Vari said.

"I'm going to love this." Taking his massive hands he hurled a full blown punch at Vari, who easily ducked, sending it straight in the direction of his fellow man. Vari kicked him hard, griping his arm, she gave it a painful twist. He collapse onto the floor. The others stared dumbly at the sudden turn of events. Seto was able to pry off of their loosen grips, turning round he shoved them to the back wall, giving them a ferocious knuckle punch. 

"Are you alright?" Vari asked, as she got up. Instead of giving a thankful gesture. His face was set in a enraged glare. 

"Who the hell do you think you are, interfering like that!" 

Vari looked at him, taken aback. "I think I was the one who save your skin!"

"I didn't ask for you help! I'm warning you, don't get in my way again! I don't need a little girl fighting my battles!" he took off before any of the teachers came to see what the trouble was all about. 

"WELL YOU'RE WELCOME!" Vari screamed at his retreating form. 

"Vari! Are you alright?" Yugi asked. 

"Yea, I'm fine, but that Kaiba! What a jerk!" Does he even know the word Thanks!?"

"You'll never expect a Thank You from Kaiba. Me and Yug saved him loads of times, like that time when we had to get him out of that virtual game of his. Never showed any appreciation." Joey said irritatingly. 

"Remind me to let them beat him to a pulp next time" Vari said, still fuming.

"What I want to know is, where you learned those kick-ass moves?" Tea asked

"I spent 4 years in China, with my parents. I took a trip to a small monastery. The monks over there taught me a little self-defense. You'd be surprised how many bullies I've went through, apparently I make more enemies then friends."

They all blinked in wonder. 

"You know? You're full of surprises." Tea replied

A/N: Well finally there's a little more action then the last chapter. I'm trying to go with the Yu-gi-oh theme here, Duel Monster Battles, although I'm not much of a player I try to make it look as professionally played as possible with no avail. IT WAS REALLY HARD TO WRITE THOSE SCENES! Credits to my bro for _trying_ to teach me how to play. Some of the cards were from my own and some were from various web sites I found. I realize that there is no tribute monsters that you have to do when you play, honestly I was too lazy to write it in, or else it would have been even longer and more complicated. If it sucks to you then I apologize, I'm not really into the card game.... 

P.S: Yea I know it was a lame fight scene. Looks like I've been watching The Matrix, one too many times. I'm not the best at writing action sequences so don't hate me....R/R!


	4. Chapter 3 Discovery

Disclaimer: Yu-gi-oh and anything related to Yu-gi-oh doesn't belong to me. "Sniff, Sniff, I wish I did!"

Chapter 3 - Discovery

Shiro examined the chest all around. It was pure gold, the writings were beautifully and carefully carved. It must have belonged to someone of royalty, he knew that much. But it was also odd. There was no lock, no key, not even a lid on, but yet the translations stated out "millennial chest" whatever that means. Shiro took his small recorder out from his pocket. He pressed the red button and started to speak into it. "This is too old for modern translation, consisting of an earlier literal language, my guess that this dates back to the Old Kingdom Dynasty. Carvings on the chest doesn't seem to be a spoken language but rather symbols of some sort of hieratic text." he gave a puzzling look, the problem was gnawing at his brain. The more he finds, the more new questions arise. 

"Professor Mayoto!" a man rushed in the laboratory, he had a dark tan complexion, roughly in his early thirties. His hair was muddled, looking as though he had a lack of sleep, which he probably did. 

"What is it Nyri?" Shiro asked.

"I've finish translating the first column!" he exclaimed excitedly. "I think you'll find it interesting" he laid out a pile of papers, all with messy scribbles of notes and symbols. "Here we have 'millennial chest' but the word millennial is actually millennium. You already know that this word 'ka' is souls or spirits. I've tried to piece together everything. So far I've got 'Spirit Realm' and strangely enough 'Maat' she was the goddess of truth and justice." 

"Is this some kind of ritual offering for the afterlife?" 

"Who knows. I'll start on the other symbols now" Nyri gave a long stretch. Scratching his head, his mouth let out a big yawn.

"What you need is some rest." Shiro observed.

"No I'm fine" he protested .

"Go get some sleep. I can take it from here."

"Oh alright" said Nyri, he was too tired to argue. "I'll see you later" he walked out of the room.

Giving a sigh Shiro took the messy scrawls of paper and examined it carefully, comparing it to the writing on the chest, there were no patterns to follow. He grabbed the phone next to him on the table. The phone rang on the receiving end. 

"Hello?" the voice said. 

"Hey honey, I just want to call in to say hi" Shiro could tell his wife was smiling on the other end, even if he couldn't see her.

"Really, is that all?" she asked.

"And....I'm going to be coming home a little late" he said wearily

"But we're having dinner with the Motos. I've invited them over already"

"Hmmm....that is going to be a problem....alright I'll come home as soon as I can, but then I'll have to come back here."

"You're working too hard, maybe you should take a break." there was a slight concern in her voice. 

"I promise when I'm finished with this I will. Tell Solomon that I'll be a little late."

"Alright then....Oh! One more thing! There's a letter here for you. There's no name"

Shiro's face suddenly went pale. But his voice came out unchanged. "Just put it on my desk, I'll look at it later."

"OK....that's about it, so I'll see you later. Bye sweetheart."

"Bye" he click the phone down on the receiver, shaking his head he went back to the translation books. "I wish you could talk" he said jokingly to the chest. Shiro was not a person that would give up so easily, taking out a leather bound journal, he started writing about his findings.

Later that evening the sky darkened, it looked like it was beginning to drizzle. Solomon (Grandpa) and Yugi Moto stood outside the front door steps. Yugi rang the doorbell. They both heard a voice from inside "I'll get it!" Vari opened the door wide. "Hey Yugi! and Grandpa! Come in." 

"Hey Vari! Thanks for inviting us!" Yugi said. 

"It's a nice place you got here." Grandpa added. 

Vari smiled "Thanks. My mom's inside I'll go get her"

"Sure thing" Grandpa said. 

"Mom! Yugi and Grandpa are here!" she called out. 

Her mother stepped in the living room to greet the guest. She wore a big smile on her face, there was a big similarity between Vari and her mother, they both have the same identical shaped face, the only difference was the slight wrinkles on both sides of her cheeks. "Hello Solomon. It's so good to see you again!" She gave him a warm huge. 

"Glad to see you too Maaya" he gave a slight chuckle as she squeezed him tight. 

"And you must be Yugi" she said, noticing him by his grandfather's side.

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Mayoto" Yugi said politely. 

"Where's Shiro?" Grandpa asked

"Oh he called and said he's going to be a little late. He'll be here soon."

"Alright"

"Come" Maaya steered them all into the dinning room. "Dinner will be ready in a couple of minutes, sit tight while I go check the oven" she hurried into the kitchen next door. 

"So Vari, how's your father doing with his work" asked Grandpa, trying to make small talk while they sit and wait. Before Vari could answer, they all heard the front door open. 

"Hey guys! I'm home!" 

"We're in here Dad!" Vari called out. Shiro, who followed the voice walked into the dinning room, his jacket was damp from the drizzle of rain outside. 

"Solomon!" he laughed "How've you been doing old chum? I heard you opened up a gaming shop"

"That's right. I thought I would take a leisurely break. It's quiet enough" 

"Your grandpa was quite the adventurer Yugi Even more so then me" he teased.

Solomon laughed "I wouldn't say that much. I must congratulate you on your success." 

Maaya came in with a steaming hot plate and placed it on the table "Dig in!" she said.

"Great I'm starving!" Vari said, she begin stuffing her herself.

"Not so fast or you'll choke!" Yugi said.

"Oh sorry. I have a big appetite."

"Your cooking was always good" Solomon commented "I think all of us would have starved at the camp sites if it wasn't for your cooking" 

"It's amazing what you can make with a few sticks of wood and a pot" Maaya laughed.

Dinner went smoothly, as everyone at the table chatted, bringing up old memories.

"As I was saying to Vari, how is the research going?" Solomon asked

"Well...it's been a little crazy. My colleagues and I are trying to decipher this strange chest we found. The thing is, we're running low on funds. The Domino museum is trying to get others to sponsor us, there probably be a charity event again." 

"Looks like you have your work cut out for you" 

"I have" he looked at the time, the short hand was pointing at 8. He turned towards Yugi "I must say, I'm curious about that necklace you have there Yugi"

"Oh my Millennium Puzzle? Grandpa gave it to me when he came back from Egypt" Yugi explained.

"May I see it?" Shiro asked, intrigued 

"Sure" Yugi took off his Millennium Puzzle and handed it over to Shiro, who studied it very closely. 

Vari rolled her eyes "You work, even when your at home Dad" 

"I'm just curious, that's all." He recognized the symbol in front, The eye of Horus. "Did you say _Millennium_ Puzzle?"

"Yeah I did"

Shiro's face suddenly grew with urgency. "I just remembered I have something I have to do back at the research center" he handed back Yugi his puzzle.

"Your going back so soon Shiro? But we haven't even finished dinner yet." Maaya said.

"I'm sorry but this can't wait" Shiro got up from his seat "Please forgive me Solomon for the short reunion, but I have to go"

"No need to apologize my friend, I understand" 

"I'll see everyone later" grabbing his jacket and umbrella he walked out in the now pouring rain.

The symbol on Yugi's Puzzle sparked an idea in Shiro's mind. He raced into the laboratory. Taking his key card, he swiped it on the accessing panel and carefully took the chest out from the safe. Then, on a scrap piece of paper, he drew out the symbol that he saw on Yugi's Puzzle and held it up next to the chest. They were the same. 

"I think I may have found something" he muttered to himself. 

The sound of footsteps could be heard from outside of the room. Shiro's ears perked up. He glanced at the door. A cloaked person entered the laboratory. The face was hidden beneath a hood. 

"Who are you?" He demanded "No one's suppose to be in here without an ID. How did you get past security?"

The was no answer, all Shiro could hear was the pounding rain on the windows.

"I asked you a question" his hand secretly griped on the security alarm beneath his desk.

"You need not fear me Shiro Mayoto." the cloaked figure turned to face him. 

"Who are you?" He demanded again.

The figure removed the hood. It was a woman.

"My name is Ishizu Ishtar, and I have a proposition for you...."

At the edge of Domino City, in a quiet murky room, a shadowy figure held up a cellular phone against his ear. It was transmitting a call. The sound of a muffled voice came on the other end of the line. 

"Has there been progress?"

"Yes" said the shadowy figure in a monotonous tone. 

"Have you found it?"

"Yes. It's here in Domino City, Japan"

"Very good. I'm on my way. See that you get it"

"Yes my master"

The line went dead. 

A/N: And the plot thickens!!! The phone call scene was inspired by The Matrix, when Trinity talks to Cypher in the beginning of the movie. Also a note on the whole Egyptian language. Some of you may find it somewhat inaccurate, and yes it probably is. I've looked at Egyptian languages and tried to make sense of them, but as you can imagine it almost seems impossible to have a whole understanding of it. And also, I just used what I've learned about the Old Kingdom dynasty and how the language was changed over time.

This was probably the hardest chapter to write so far, next to Dealing with Duels....but I know the later chapters to come are going to be more tricky to write. Again thanks to those who reviewed, and those who don't review and just read it, thanks for reading, but I would love to hear from you too....yes I know you people do that, because I do that myself! hehehe ^_^

R/R!


	5. Chapter 4 A Charity Event

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh does not belong to me, it belongs to the ingenious Kazuki Takahashi.... Nothing is being made from this, only my vocab skills! 

Chapter 4 - A Charity Event

"I have a proposition for you...." Ishizu said.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"I wish to make a partnership. Regarding about the chest."

"How did you know..." 

But Ishizu cut him off. "I too have information, it would be worth your wild. If you would agree."

"How do I know you're telling the truth? I could send for security on you for breaking an entry."

"If you believe that, you would have already press the security alarm, under your desk." she replied.

Shiro stared in disbelief. _"How could she have known?"_

"I leave you to think about it, but I have a feeling that you will be up to it" she turned to leave.

"Wait!" Shiro cried out, but she was already gone.

As the days went by, the night of the Charity Ball came, hosted by the Domino Museum. Since Shiro was the head archaeologist, it was mandatory for him and his family to attend. 

Vari stepped out from her bedroom, she wore a beautiful silk blue bare back dress. Her hair was hung loosely with only a few pins in place.

"Oh honey are you going to wear your hair like that?" asked her mother.

"Why not? What's wrong with my hair?" she inquired.

"Maybe you should put it up, you look prettier like that"

"But I like it like this" she said "Besides you shouldn't be giving hair advice, since yours always looks disheveled."

"That was during dig sites, of course it would be disheveled." her mother argued.

Vari gave a groan in annoyance "Fine." taking two chopsticks, she twisted her hair into a fancy bun. "Is that better?" 

"Much" said her mother approvingly. "We have to hurry or we'll be late! Where is you father? Shiro!" she called out. "We have to get going!"

"OK, OK!" Shiro said exasperatingly. He came out of the master bedroom, fixing his collar in place. He wore a simple black tux, which suited him nicely. "Everyone ready? Good. Let's get going!" he ushered everyone out of the door and into the car. 

"I hate going to these events" Vari complained "It's always boring"

"Dear, this is very important to your father, besides it'll be over before you know it. Try to make a good impression on everyone there" 

"Yes mother" Vari mumbled. 

They drove off to the Domino Museum.

The museum entrance was artfully decorated, hanging massive pieces of Egyptian hieroglyphics on the wall. In the center of the dome room hung a great chandler, the crystals were so large that it you can see it shimmer even from such a towering height. Vari looked around, it did look a bit impressive, for a charity event. 

Various types of people stood all around the dome room, drinking champagne and making conversation. They ranged from professors to private collectors, to business men. 

"Well, well, if it isn't Shiro Mayoto" a man around his late 30's strolled over towards the Mayoto family. He had a hooked nose which looked like it was broken as least four or five times.

"Hajime Yamada, surprise seeing you here." her father said. " I thought you would be in Cairo"

"Yes well..." he gave a slight scornful twist up his crooked nose. "I decided to come back here, your not the only renown historian." his face held a slight smirk as he said that. 

Shiro gave a fake smile. "I'm glad that you've made it back here. I look forward to seeing you around the research center, no doubt?" 

"Likewise" he replied. "I see you've brought your family along with you." He eyed Maaya and Vari

"Yes, you've met my wife, haven't you? Maaya.... and my daughter Vari." 

Vari looked her father, in a curious glance. _"Who is this creep?" _she signal to her father.

As if on cue, the director of the Domino Museum approach in the direction towards them. "Hello Professor Yamada." he said briefly, then whisper something to Shiro's ear. 

"If you'll excuse us, we are needed by the director. Come." he said to Maaya and Vari, guiding them away. Shiro almost gave a sigh of relief, glad to get away from Hajime for a while. 

"Um...Dad who was that guy?" Vari asked after getting a safe distance away.

"He was one of the few people on one of your father's earlier expeditions. Glory was all he ever cared about. There was a project, before you were born, in Indonesia . Your father beat him to it. Let's just say it wasn't pretty...." her mother explained.

"He's a lying cheater, if I ever saw one" her father gritted his teeth.

There was a group of business like people, Vari guessed they were sponsors that her father was trying to get a hold of. The director introduced them "Gentlemen, I would like to introduce Shiro Mayoto, one of the head archaeologist of the Domino Museum and his wife and daughter." 

One of the business men spoke "It's a pleasure, your wife and daughter are a vision of loveliness." he shook his hand.

Vari plastered on the biggest smile she can muster up, her cheek bones were aching. "_This is for Dad_" she muttered repeatedly to herself "_This is for Dad_"

"I'm quite interested in what you have to say about Ancient Egypt. As you know...." 

Vari was hardly listening, to the conversation, she whisper in a low voice to her mother, "I'm going to explore a little, is that alright?" 

Seeing that her daughter look bored out of her wits she nodded in consent. Vari walked quietly away from the group, her father was in deep conversation to notice her gone.

Vari strolled around, she notice some of the younger men eyeballing her as she walked, it was a bit discomforting. There was no one her age to talk to, so she kept on walking, trying to be oblivious to the stares. Being so absent minded as she walked, she accidentally bumped into someone from behind. 

"I'm so sorry! That was clumsy of me..." she turned around. 

"YOU!" they both said in unison. It was the last person she wanted to see. Seto Kaiba.

"What are you doing here?" she exclaimed.

Seto raised his eyebrows "I was about to ask you the same question" he said with a look of distaste.

Vari looked at him for a long while, then finally answered "My father is one of the head archaeologist in the Domino Museum." she stated a plainly. "You?" she mentions to him.

"I'm head of a multinational corporation, what would people say if I didn't attend these ridiculous events?" he said, as of it was the most obvious thing in the world.

There was a long pause, the two of them glowered at each other for a while. Finally it was Vari who broke the tension.

"You're not still hung up about the fight incident, are you?" she asked him.

He looked at her, but didn't say anything.

"OK...I'll take that as a No" 

"You shouldn't have meddled in." he answered, after her assumption.

"Well, I couldn't let them beat you, until you were internally bleeding."

"Look, I can take care of myself. I've been doing it ever since I was young, and I'm not going to stop now"

"Sometimes it's good to have friends to back you up"

"Is that one of your moral statements?" he sneered in annoyance. 

"Your stubbornness precedes you." she scoffed. 

"_Friends_ get in the way. _Friends_ slow you down. As for me I don't rely on anyone."

Vari scowled at his comment. "Then it must be very lonely for you." Her eyes soften. Apparently she hit a soft spot in him. His body stiffened slightly.

"If you're done with your feeble battle of wits, I'll go somewhere else." He turned and started to walk away.

"I doubt you would want to talk to anybody here." she called out to him. He gave a sigh, she was right, he was wasting his time with drunken morons. "I think this party is absolutely boring." she added. 

"That's something we both finally agree on" he glanced at her. She gave a small grin. He flinched a little, not knowing why. _"Something about her..."_ Hating the awkwardness. He let down his guard just a little. "Well...you look decent tonight" he said, as if he was just noticing her for the first time. _"Why the heck did I say that?" _he thought to himself. Seto would have knock himself over the head if she wasn't there. There was a strange aura he felt pulling him towards her.

"Is that what I think I heard? _The _Seto Kaiba giving me a complement?" 

His face would've turned red with embarrassment if it not for his trained emotionless expression. "Don't get cocky" he shot at her. 

"I was only joking! And thank you. You look "decent" too." she quoted. 

"You say your father is the head archaeologist?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yes"

"I've read his work on Egyptian Duel Monsters. It seemed interesting enough, even for me."

"I'm very proud of my father's achievements. I just hope they get their grant for the research." she said with a slight concerned tone.

A loud speaker brought the whole room to attention. Shiro walked up to the platform prepared to make a speech. He stood against the podium, clearing his voice. "Ladies and gentlemen, I would first like to thank everyone for coming tonight and for your support on the our research of Ancient Egypt. We have learned much about it's history and culture, the most recent is the study of ancient duel monster games played thousands of years ago, provided by my colleague Ishizu Ishtar." he paused for a moment. 

"Excuse me" Kaiba said, he went off and spoke to the director. Vari eyed him curiously. Watching him, Kaiba and the director walked up to the podium, and whispered something into her father's ear. _"What is he up to?"_ Vari thought. She saw her father nodded slightly, then spoke up to the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Seto Kaiba would like to say a few words." At this Vari's curiosity grew even more. 

Shiro gave the podium to Seto. His speech was short and simple. "As you well know, my company provides the lastest duel monster products. As head of Kaiba Corporation, I would like to show my support for the Egyptology by donating five million towards the research." 

Everyone went dead silent, either in awe or in amazement. Shiro's eyes widen, but not as wide as the director. The director looked like he was about to faint right there on the stage. Even Vari was surprised, wondering if this was out of some twisted goodness of his heart. 

Later that night Kaiba drove home in his stretched limousine. Staring out at the passing street, he was questioning himself about why he donated a chunk of money to something he didn't even care about. _"Well, that'll give them something think about."_ he thought. 

The driver pulled over to the front gates and opened the door. "Here you are, Mr. Kaiba" he said, with a slight bow. Seto got out and walked inside. The television was on. 

"Hey big brother!" It was Mokuba. "How was the Charity Ball?"

"It was the same as any other" he said. Seto looked up, just noticing the time. It was half past twelve. "Aren't you suppose to be in bed?" giving a firm look at his little brother.

"I wasn't sleepy" Mokuba replied.

" I think you should go to bed now." but he looked distracted as he said it. Frankly Seto didn't have the energy to be stern with his little brother. 

Mokuba notice this. "Are you alright Seto?" he asked concerned. 

"I'm just tired, I'm going to bed, and I suggest you do the same." he staggered up the steps. But little did he know, he was going to have a sleepless night. 

A/N: Little mysteries are starting to pop up everywhere. ^_^ Honestly I didn't really know how this chapter was going to turn out, but after brainstorming a little bit, I decided this was the direction I wanted my story to go. A little note on the donation amount. Is it too high? Is it too low? I really didn't know how much to put in since I'm not rich, so I imaged, Seto Kaiba, a rich billionaire would have enough money to spare. This chapter is just the turning point for things to come. And that's when things really get sticky. As for me, I'm on to the next chapter! As I said before, the story progresses slowly little by little. I realize that I focus on my OC, Shiro, more then my other OC, Vari, who was suppose to be my main character, originally planned. But I guess Shiro grew on me, and it's a little different from all the other fics, so I'm happy about that. And yes I know I hate the title for this chapter as well... I didn't know what to name it! OK that's it, I'll stop badgering....

R/R! Your comments is what keeps this story alive! Please R/R! Thanks! ^_^


	6. Chapter 5 An Enemy Within

Disclaimer: Yu-gi-oh and anything related to Yu-gi-oh does not belong to me.

Yami: You know you have the lamest Disclaimer ever...

Luna: I know I know....It's stupid....*looks at him surprised* Hey how did you get in here???

Chapter 5 - An Enemy Within

A blur of dark swirls surrounds a dwelling atmosphere.

"Where am I?" his voice echoes, bouncing off of invisible walls, but there was nothing as far as the eye could see. He looked around, his body shivered a little, it felt dark and damp. He held up his arm and reached out, as if to touch something solid, but all he could feel was empty space. His head swiveled around. Suddenly a cloaked figure appeared, standing before him, a woman more specifically. She looked at him, but no trace of the face was revealed, only her piercing turquoise eyes. 

"Where am I?" he demanded the figure. She didn't reply, instead the figure turned and walked away. 

"Wait!" he cried out, but the figure kept on walking, blending into the darkness. 

The air began to get even colder.

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" an invisible ghost-like voice cried out. All of a sudden an immense beam of light struck out of nowhere. His arms struggled to covered his eyes from the blinding light. There the ferocious Blue-Eyes descended before him.

"What!?" he cried out. His body stood face to face with the vicious beast. It gave a tremendous mighty roar, enough to make any man quiver with fear.

"Attack!" the voice cried out again. The Blue-Eyes obeyed, gathering up all it's energy, it let out a massive blast of white electricity. 

"NO!" he screamed, trying to shield himself with no avail as the white energy hit him, making him stumble into a deep hole that wasn't there a moment ago. His body fell into a pit of darkness. 

Seto woke with a start. He lay flat on his back breathing heavily as though he had been running fast. Cold sweat ran down his forehead. He laid there motionless, unable to explain the bizarre dream he just had. _"It felt so real" _he though, his body still shaking. 

Seto walked into the classroom the next morning, his eyes looked dull and tired, more then usual. Vari noticed, as he sat down in his seat next to her. 

"Are you alright?" she whispered, as the teacher began writing notes on the board. 

"Like you would care?" he narrowed his eyes at her. 

"Well sorry for being a little concerned" she sarcastically shot back. 

"If you must know, I didn't have a good night sleep." he confessed irritably. 

"Nightmares got you down?" 

His aggravated face was fixed in a drop the subject look. Vari shut up immediately and went back to copying her notes. 

After a long while, Vari's mind was egging her to saying something. 

"Thank you for what you did" she said in a low voice.

"What did I do?" a slight look confusion flashed across his face. 

"For donating that money to my father's research" she clarified. 

He gave a look as if it was of no importance. "Now we're even" he merely said.

"No way! I still think Kaiba is bad to core, no matter what you say!" Joey exclaimed

"Maybe he's not as cruel as you claim him to be" Vari differ.

The group was walking through the hallway. Vari had filled them in on the details from last night. 

"I don't think people are _all_ bad." she explained "Besides he wouldn't give it away if he didn't care about it." Joey gape at Vari as if she had lost her mind completely. 

"Obviously you haven't hung around Kaiba long enough." said Joey.

"Well....five million is a bit much to just be giving it away like that." Yugi reasoned. 

Joey sighed. "The world was so much simpler until now." 

Vari giggled a little "Your too melodramatic Joey. It's not so bad"

"Oh yes it is" he grumbled.

But Vari couldn't help but smile.

*****

Back at the research center, Shiro continued to study the chest from every angle. He and Nyri had finish translating one side of the large box. But it was still a long way to go. Shiro wanted to pull his hair out, with the added stress. He felt a presence walking in, he turned around to see who it was. It was Hajime. Shiro groaned slightly, he defiantly didn't want to see him at the moment. 

"A little overworked don't you think Shiro?" Hajime sneered. 

Shiro gave a slight annoyed sigh "What do you want Hajime?" he really didn't feel like saying 'Hi', especially to Hajime.

"Well aren't we a bit rude?" Hajime smirked. "I see that work has been getting to you. But then again you always have been a little sluggish." 

Nyri looked at each of the two men. First at Hajime then at Shiro. He sensed a bit of tension, like one of them was a nuclear bomb about to detonate. He wished he would bolt out of there but his feet were glued to the floor, only to let him listen to their quarrel. 

Shiro griped his hands to prevent himself from running his fist into Hajime's face. Instead he gave a detested look at the other man. "If your visit has any particular reason, please just say it and go" 

Hajime's face turned into a resentful loathing. "You should hold your tongue, or else you'll lose this little project of yours. I would advise you to be cautious or else, god forbid, something would happen to you..." 

"Is that a threat?" Shiro asked unafraid. His voice tighten. 

"I think that's enough bickering, between you two" Nyri interrupted. He didn't like where this was going and he certainly didn't want it to go any further. "Hajime, I suggest you leave." Nyri told him calmly. 

"I'll go, for now...." Giving one last glare Hajime walked out. 

"That man gets on my nerve every time" Shiro muttered angrily.

"What is going on between you and him?" Nyri asked. "Ever since he got here, you two have been at each other's throats."

"I honestly don't know Nyri" Shiro said. "He's not a person to be trusted. I've learned that from experience" 

Nyri gave a sigh. "Whatever you say." 

Footsteps were heard once again, Shiro grumbled. He was about to tell Hajime off. "I'm not in the mood right now Hajime" Shiro said. He turned around. 

"I'm not Hajime" the voice said. 

"Ishizu!" Shiro exclaimed "I thought you were someone else." He went silent. 

"Who's she?" Nyri asked. 

"A friend" Shiro replied simply. "Can we have a little privacy?" 

Nyri gave a puzzled glance. "Sure" he said. Giving a one last inquisitive look at Ishizu, he walked out and close the door behind him.

"I take it that you agree?" she asked.

"Yes" he answers "Tell me what you know" 

"First I need to warn you, that what you hear will be crucial. This is more then just an archaeological project. If you wish to change your mind then I'll take my leave."

"No" said Shiro firmly "I have my reasons, I want to know."

"Very well...we will share our information. I do not know much details about this chest, but what I do know for certain, is this chest has dangerous powers. I believe it contains magical qualities"

"Dangerous powers?" Shiro asked unconvinced, "I'm sorry to say that I don't believe in the supernatural." he almost laughed, but Ishizu's face was dead serious. 

"Whether you believe in magic or not, I'm only giving the information. Now...you find that this chest dates back to around the late Old Kingdom dynasty? I'm I correct?"

"Yes...this hieratic text is definitely from the Old Kingdom. We have confirmed it.

"Then my suspicions of the history of this chest are true." her brow furrowed as she closely examines the gold chest. 

"You know the history behind this?" Shiro asked, hopeful that maybe his questions will be answered. 

"I do not know much, but what I do know is that this once belonged to an Egyptian princess."

"But there are many Egyptian princesses from over that thousand year period!" Shiro exclaimed "How can we know who it was?"

"That is why I seek your help, to decipher and solve this mystery." 

Shiro nodded. "I have recorded what we have found so far" he took out the leather bound journal from his desk drawer. "But it's still not enough to tell us something."

Ishizu took a careful reading of Shiro's notes. "Then we must get to work." she said.

Shiro held up his hand at the woman. "I need to know, what is your real intention towards this?" he interrogated. His face twisted into a suspicious frown. "What have you really come here for?"

"I will answer in due time. But for now, I have my reasons. Might I ask why _you_ are so particularly interested in such a small object."

"Like you said before. I have my reasons" he answered. 

Surprisingly Ishizu gave a rare smile. "We may find that our goals are different but our paths are the same." 

Little did they suspect however, outside the laboratory door, a person was listening in through the small opening gap. A tiny smile crept up on his lips. "Perfect..."

A/N: And so we finally get some kind of answers, but I like to keep it mysterious for just a little while longer. Anyway, I think you all know where this is going to lead...I must admit it's not the most original idea, but hey I'm still working on it. I will state that this does not follow up with the Domino City Tournament. You probably figure that out already, but I just want to make it clear. All the characters are going to have the similar ties to the show, that's about it. Next chapter I'll move away from Shiro and focus on Vari more. I feel that I didn't really have much of a good character development in her. Also I'll introduce some other characters as well...

This was a fun chapter to write for me. ^_^ I hope you like reading it as much as I like writing it. And please R/R! Again I love to hear your thoughts....it helps me a lot. 


	7. Chapter 6 So It Begins

Disclaimer: All Yu-gi-oh is the property of Kazuki Takahashi. All OC characters are mines. 

Chapter 6 - So It Begins

He tossed and turned that night. 

"Blue-Eyes attack!" the ghoulish voice bellowed out. It's voice was more commanding then ever. 

This time he ran, his feet sprinting like a track race, it was no use, the blast struck him again. 

His thoughts flashed through his mind. _"This can't be real" _But it did feel real, his skin actually burned when the white electricity touched him. He screamed as the pit of darkness engulfed him again, like a well hidden trap. 

Seto woke, the hairs on his neck stood up as he felt chills running all over his body. 

It was the same dream. The same haunting nightmare, he had over and over for the past few days. The ghost of a voice echoing in his mind, his Blue-Eyes turning against him, and the same mysterious woman, looking over with her dishearten eyes glinting. 

"It's just a stupid dream" he muttered to himself. But in the back of his mind he doubted if that were so. 

******

Seto just stared blankly at the board, distracted more then usual, and scribbled his notes inattentively. He wasn't even paying attention to whatever the teacher was saying. It was such a bore, listening to him drone on and on, while the other students were furiously writing, trying to keep up. Seto didn't seem the least bit interested. 

Apparently Mr. Hiraku noticed. "Mr. Kaiba!"

Seto looked up at the sudden reference to his name.

"Since you seem so awfully _interested _in the lesson." and he stretched the word 'interested' "Would you be so kind enough to tell us the answer to..." 

Before he cold even finish the sentence Seto answered. "4,832" 

Mr. Hiraku blinked, looks as if he really didn't expect that. "That is correct" he muttered, but that didn't stop him from giving a slight glare at Seto.

Seto smirked at the man. "Moron" he muttered under his breath. 

Vari couldn't help shuffling a giggle.

"Is there something funny Ms. Mayoto?" Mr. Hiraku asked sharply.

Vari stopped immediately. "No sir" she replied. "Please go on with your _interesting_ lecture" and she stretched the word 'interesting' at him. 

Mr. Hiraku also gave her a small glare "I want no cheek with you Ms. Mayoto." 

Seto gave a rare hint of a smile, hardly noticeable. _"She's got wit. I'll give her that much" _he thought. 

Vari walked right up to Seto after class. Shuffling through her bag she took out a round weaved web of some kind with native beads and feathers hanging like a wind chime. "Here" she thrust it into his hands. 

"What the heck is this?" he asked. He held it up as if it was something infected.

"It's called a dreamcatcher" she answered. "In North America, Native Americans believed it helped ward away bad dreams."

"I'm suppose to believe a piece of wood is suppose to make bad dreams go away? That's ludicrous" he said unconvinced. 

Vari looked a little offended by his remark. "Just try it, hang it over your bed." she simply replied. 

Before he could thrust it back to her she walked away.

******

It was the middle of the school day when Yugi spotted someone familiar across the hall. "Hey Bakura!" The group ran over towards the white haired boy. They all had big smiles on their faces. Vari just followed. "You're back! How was your trip to Egypt?" Yugi said.

"Oh hey guys!" Bakura said surprised. "It was great! My dad brought me along to all the pyramid sites." 

"We're so glad that your back." Tea said. 

"Thanks" Bakura said. "I had a blast, but then again I'll have to make up the school work I missed out." he groaned. "Who might you be?" he asked, looking quizzically at Vari.

"Oh! This is Vari Mayoto. The newest member of our group" Yugi said smiling. "Vari this is Bakura" he introduced the two.

"Hi" Vari said.

"Hello, nice to meet you. Mayoto...Mayoto...I've read that name in the paper somewhere..." 

Vari gave a slight sigh, every time someone mentions her last name they immediately think of her father. Not that there was anything wrong with that, it just gets somewhat annoying after a while. 

"Maybe you've read about my father Shiro Mayoto." she said, putting his questioning look to rest.

"Oh! That's right! I didn't know he was your father." Bakura said. "My dad mention about him once or twice. I think he's a fan" Bakura joked. "Anyway, I better be going" 

"You're not going to come and hang with us?" Tristen asked.

"Can't, I need to talk to my teachers about my missing work." he replied.

"Alright then see you around." Tea said. 

"OK. Bye!" said Bakura, turning and walking away. When he got out of view from them, his face suddenly turned into a wicked expression. "Fools" he muttered, but then turned a little and looked at Vari from a distance. _"This just got interesting" _he thought. 

******

After school Yugi, Vari, Joey, Tristen, and Tea strolled around Downtown Domino. Joey and Tristen wanted to check out the newest game shop, dragging everyone with them. After two hours of looking at nothing but video games, Joey and Tristen finally decided that they couldn't afford anything there. 

"Hey! There's going to be a Duel Monsters Tournament!" Tea said. She read the poster on the game shop window. Bright flashy colored words read:

****

Join us for our 10th annual Duel Monsters Tournament!

Register today to compete in the preliminary competition. Those who win will be chosen to compete in the Duel Monsters Tournaments. Prizes will be awarded to the top six competitors and will automatically be placed in the Duel Monster World Champion Finals. Top winner will be granted the honor of being in the Hall of Fame of Duel Monster Competitors. 

Register at any gaming shop with this poster. Hurry! Only the first 100 registered will be accepted. 

Registration begins : April 5th - April 9th, 2003.

We hope to see you there!

"Oh man you guys should compete!" Tea said. She looked over it again. "The registration begins today!" 

"I think that's a great idea" Yugi said.

Alright! I'm going for it!" Joey exclaimed. "I can just picture myself in the Hall of Fame! All the chicks will be swarming all over me!"

"You should compete too Vari!" Tea said.

"Me!? I don't know..."

"Yea you should Vari, you're a natural pro!" Tristen said. "You beat Joey last time, but then again that wouldn't be much of a challenge" Tristen teased. 

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that" Joey said, glowering slightly at Tristen.

"It'll be fun! Besides it's nice to see a woman dueling." Tea said. "Please? You know we can wipe the floor off these guys" she whispered.

Vari laughed. "I guess I could..."

"Great! Let's registered before a mob of people come!" Yugi said. 

They went over to the sales counter. A tall man with dark sunglasses, stood over cleaning the counter top. "Can I help you with anything?" he asked as they approached. 

"Yea. We'd like to register for the Duel Monsters Tournament" Yugi said. 

"I see. Just in time too. Spaces been filling up fast. Now which one of you want to register?" 

Yugi, Joey, and Vari stepped up. "Three of us" Yugi said. 

"Alright...fill these out, and I'll added you in the computer." he gave them each a form and began typing on his laptop. "Thanks" he said after they finished filling out the applications. "Here" the sales clerk gave them each a box containing a duel disk system. 

"Kaiba's Duel Discs!" Joey said. "Awww, I should have know he'd be hosting this" 

"Who else would it be?" Yugi said.

"Competitors will be meeting at Town Square. You'll get a notice in the mail" the sales clerk informed. "Good luck to you three" he added.

"Thanks" Yugi said, and the group walked out of the store.

A man was silently listening in and watched as the group of friends walked out. _"My master must be informed of this" _he thought to himself.

******

In the fainting dimness of daylight, a small vessel slowly reached the dock at the edge of the Domino City harbor. The man waited patiently as the anchor was dropped onto the calm waters, with the weight sinking below. He descended down to the port, where he was greeted by at least 20 others, all wearing the same dark robes, with there faces hidden beneath it. It looked like a religious cult. They bowed down low as he made his way towards the group. 

One of them stood up, but still bowed his head slightly. "We welcome you master" his voice was rough and coarse. 

The man gave a sneer, either with disgust or amusement, it was hard to tell which. He turned not paying any attention to the others. "Walk with me" he said.

He responded "My master?" waiting for a command.

"What is your progress here?"

"I have infiltrated the lab."

"And do they suspect?"

"No, my master, they do not suspect a thing"

He gave a twisted smile. "Very good" he said pleasingly. 

"But what use of it, is it to you? We do not know yet of what it contains. For all we know it could just be a worthless box."

"Fool!" the man cried out. His servant coward under his master's sudden outburst. "It is true that there is not much, but I know... You will do well not to question my knowledge" 

"F...Forgive me m...master." he said shaking. "P...perhaps you will be please to hear that Yugi Moto has entered the Duel Monsters Tournament." 

"Good. All is going according to plan. We will wait. When the time is right, I will take what is rightfully mines!" his voice crackled into a sinister laugh. 

A/N: The real story is suppose to begin. It seems like I'm copying the idea of Battle City, in fact I am, but I'm changing it just a little. Honestly I didn't anticipate this sort of turn in my story, but I've been thinking and thinking and I decided that I will have to write this in for my story to progress. For those of you who watched Battle City, it will be similar, but also different at the same time. 

R/R! Thanks to all who reviewed. You guys made me a happy authoress! ^_^ Again for Updates see my Profile.


	8. Chapter 7 A Secret Message

Disclaimer: Yu-gi-oh doesn't belong to me, it is the property of Kazuki Takahashi. 

Luna: Can I buy Yu-gi-oh from you?

Takahashi: You got a billion dollars?

Luna: Um no...*digs into her pocket* I do have...a push pin...a button...65 cents...and some lint.

Takahashi: Nope sorry...can I have the button though?

Chapter 7 - A Secret Message

"I'm very surprised at you Miss Mayoto." Mr. Hiraku said as he handed the paper to her. "You've been lacking in your studies."

"A 45!" she cried out. "I can't believe this!" Vari groaned in aggravation. She stared at the paper in disappointment and slumped her head onto the desk. Mr. Hiraku had returned their math exams back and Vari was not exactly ecstatic about her grade.

"You've failed the last 2 tests already Miss Mayoto." Mr. Hiraku pointed out. "I'm afraid that if you keep this up I'll have to pull you out of honors." 

"No!" the idea absolutely horrified her. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I've just been behind a little that's all" Mr. Hiraku stared at her doubtfully as she said that. "I'm a little stressed..." she babbled on.

Mr. Hiraku's face tighten to a strict going by the rules look. "I'm sorry but..."

"Oh please don't!" Vari cried out. "I just need to catch up a little bit."

Mr. Hiraku furrowed his thick eyebrows at her vexed face. "Might I suggest a tutor then..."

"OK, I can go with that." she said. 

Mr. Hiraku looked up suddenly as if an idea just popped into his thick brain. "Why don't you be Vari's tutor, Mr. Kaiba." his attention suddenly turned towards Seto, who was only half listening to their conversation.

Seto gave a skeptic look when the conversation turned on him. "I don't think that's such a good idea." he said. Vari stared down, also seemingly hesitant about this new found suggestion. 

"Nonsense, your the best student in the class, so you can use your skills to help tutor the _less fortunate_." Vari pouted a little upon hearing this, in the back of her mind she knew he was easily going out of his way to try and insult her. Seto was about to reject the idea again, but Mr. Hiraku stared down on him in a sort of 'You don't do this you fail' look. 

Seto grumbled slightly. "Alright" he gave in. 

"Good" he said, smirking a little as he did. "Perhaps after school or whenever your free time might be." As the matter came to a close he walked up to the front of the room.

"He's just doing this to me because he hates me" Seto said, grunting a bit.

"Well, you don't have tutor me if you don't want to." Vari said. "I can find someone else." 

"No." He said. "I know he's going to keep tabs on me somehow if I don't" he muttered bleakly.

"If you say so." 

"Meet me by the entrance after school." he got up as the bell rang and walked out.

******

"Let's go to the new Slicery, I'm in for some pizza! I don't think the school lunch is enough, it's practically a small table spoon." Joey said.

Tea rolled her eyes. "Only you would say that Joey" 

"And Tristen." Joey added.

"Well we can stop by I guess" Yugi said. "But I have to get back a little early. I need to help my grandpa with the shop." Vari started in the other direction. 

"Hey Vari, you're not coming?" Tristen asked.

"I can't I need to meet with someone for tutoring." she hesitated to say who.

"Who you meeting with?" as if Joey could read her mind.

Vari shifted slightly. "Seto Kaiba, if you must know." 

A stunned expression bounced off of Joey and the other's faces. "Kaiba? What, you lost a choice of options?" Joey asked. 

"It was the teacher's idea." Vari explained. "I have to go, see you guys later"

"Alright, bye!" They parted ways. 

*****

Vari tapped on her watch absentmindedly, she wondered if he was really going to meet with her. Staring down at the steps, she didn't notice a figure walking towards her until she lifted her head and jumped. Kaiba's face stared, giving her a quizzical look at her startled expression. 

"You scared me right there" she said with surprise. "I almost thought you weren't going to come."

"I don't break my promises. If I said I was going to come, I would come." he stated. "Let's just get this over with." as if the idea of being a tutor was a nuisance to him, he showed it quite well. He lead her to the street where a big stretched black limousine was waiting patiently for them. Vari stared, obviously flabbergasted. Seto smirked a little at her expression. The driver opened the door for them. Inside were real leather seats with a small TV, a cooler, and other little gadgets to tinker with.

"So this is what being rich feels like" said Vari. "Not bad if I say so myself." 

Seto didn't say anything to this, but merely informed "We'll have to stop and pick up my little brother." as they got in the car.

"You have a little brother?" that thought never dawn on her about Seto. 

"Yes, I have a little brother." Seto said sarcastically. "Is there anything wrong with that?"

"No" said Vari. "It's just that, I never knew you had a brother. I'd love to meet him." Again Seto said nothing.

There was an awkward silence for a while. Vari just looked out the window, in a daydreaming sort of way. The limo pulled up in front of the Elementary School. The street was bustling with children. Vari saw all the children leaving with their parents, some stayed in the playground, others in front of the school. All of a sudden a spiky black haired boy waved in their direction and ran over to the car. Vari notice this boy couldn't be more then maybe 10 years old. 

Kaiba opened the door and the little boy slipped in. "Hey big brother!" he said cheerfully. 

Seto gave a simple nod and said "Hey" then waved his hand, signaling the driver to drive.

The boy looked over across from him, just noticing Vari there. "Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Vari." she said with a smile. 

"She just coming over because I need to tutor her" Seto explained. 

"What's your name?" Vari asked. 

"Mokuba" he replied. 

"It's nice to meet you Mokuba" Vari said smiling sweetly. Her mother always said, first impressions are the best.

"It's nice to meet you too." he cheerfully replied. 

__

"I would never have guessed he's related to Seto." Vari thought to herself. _"He's almost the exact opposite."_

"Are you the one that gave Seto that dreamcatcher?" Mokuba asked after a long pause.

"Yes" she answered.

"That's cool! Seto hung it up over his bed and..."

Seto gave a small distracted cough. "Mokuba..." he said, trying to hush his little brother. 

Vari grinned a little at Seto. "I see..." She grinned even more when Seto's face redden just a bit. "I'm glad to hear you using it." she said kindly. "Does it work?" she asked.

"I guess..." he said, not wanting to go any further in the matter. Vari sensed this and stop, not wanting to embarrass Seto more.

The driver pulled up to the front gates. As Vari got out of the limo, her eyes bogged a little at the size of the enormous mansion. "Well considering how rich you are, I expected it would be slightly bigger." she teased. Mokuba laughed, as they went inside. It was a spacious hall, which revealed several other different rooms. Right in front was the main staircase which curled at each end leading upstairs. 

"We'll go into the study room." said Kaiba. "You should go start on your homework" he said turning towards Mokuba. 

"Can't I play just a little first?" he pleaded. 

"Mokuba..." Seto started. 

"Maybe your brother is right, you can do your homework now then play video games till your head explodes after you finish." Vari said grinning. 

Mokuba considered the idea. "I guess your right" he said. He started up the stairs and ran to his room.

"He's cute" she said, her eyes following his retreated form. 

"Let's get to work." said Seto, ushering her to the study. 

*****

After 2 hours of agonizing over formulas and equations, Vari's head was swirling with numbers. "I can't do this!" she moaned. 

Seto was also looking frustrated as well. "Come on, this is just the basics! A ten year old can do it!" 

"That is not helping me" she complained. 

"And the last two hours didn't help you either I suppose?" 

Vari glowered a little. She couldn't think straight. "I wonder how I ever got into Math Honors." she muttered.

"I wondered that also." said Seto incuriously.

"I'm more of a history/literature type person." Seto snorted, of course she was, her father is in the archaeology field. "Ask me about Napoleon and I'll tell you about his reign of imperialism. Ask me about pyramids and I'll tell you what, where, when, and why they were built." 

"Seems like you read a lot of reference books."

Vari shrugged her shoulders. "Not really, it's because I spent most of my childhood, playing in dig fields and excavation sites with my parents. After all that, you learn a thing or two." She stared at a vase making her think of something. "My father loves to collect artifacts. He would always say they can tell a story about the past." She smiled a little. "I guess that's why our house looks like a mini museum." 

Seto looked at her. "You love your dad, don't you?" 

"Of course. Who wouldn't?" she said. "What happen to your parents?" she asked without thinking. 

Seto looked away slightly. "Their dead." he said simply. He almost sound casual about it. 

Vari's expression dimmed. "I'm so sorry. I should have asked that. I didn't know what I was thinking."

Seto just shrugged. "You didn't know."

"But still..." Vari stopped not knowing what to say. She looked at the clock on the wall. "I better go. I took too much of your time already." Seto nodded and lead her out of the room and to the front door. They both saw Mokuba there. "Hey, finished that homework of yours?" she asked.

"Yep, I'm free!" he jumped for joy. Vari laughed at the eccentric little boy. "Are you leaving" he asked. 

"Yep, I have to get going, your brother has work to do." 

"Are you going to come back?"

Vari smiled at him. "Sure, how about it? Same time, same place?" she turned looking at Seto. He nodded in agreement. "Alright then, Bye!"

"Bye!" Mokuba waved his arms as they watch her walk down the street from their door step. "She seems nice" Mokuba said. 

Seto didn't answer, he just stood watching Vari go. 

*****

Shiro came home earlier then he had been these past couple of weeks. His wife walked in the living room. 

"Shiro you're home!" Maaya said in surprised. "I'm so glad." she kissed him on the lips. "I was worried you were spending so much time in the Research Center."

"I'm sorry, it's just that we're really close to getting it done. After Kaiba's generous donation, it's going faster then I expected it to be." 

"I'm glad to hear that." she said smiling. "So, tell me about your day." 

"Well nothing much, but I did run into Hajime _again_." he said with a exasperating sigh. 

"Oh no, what did you two fight about now?" Maaya asked the minute he told her.

"I found him looking at our deciphering files. I confronted him and questioned him. He just denied it, saying he was looking for his drafts on a book he's writing. Apparently he accuses me of taking it, like I would even want to read anything of his."

"And I bet that's when you two started biting each other's heads off." Maaya said filling in the story.

"Well...you can say there was a little dispute. And Nyri was there breaking us up yet again. Actually he was the one that found Hajime there. Hajime still denied it."

"Well someone had to be there to hold you down. I'm glad it was Nyri."

"I swear, he's up to something, I can't put my finger on it." Shiro said with a skeptic look. 

"Let's not think about it right now." Maaya said. "Let's just relax and spend a little family time." 

"Good. I'll go put my things away in my study." he started towards the room.

"Oh, I put a batch of your mail on the desk." said Maaya.

"OK, I'll go look at it." he said walking into the study. He set his bag and briefcase down on the floor and strolled over to his small desk. Right there was a pile of envelops, he started going through them. "Junk, Junk, Bill, Junk... What's this?" he asked himself. It was a yellow envelope. There was no return address. He wondered how it could have been sent to him. His curiosity commanded him to open it, and he did. Inside was a small piece of parchment, it felt a little like cloth. 

On it was a clear message:

**__**

YOU CAN'T HIDE IT FOREVER. 

A/N: I lied, I said I was going to be away for a while because of studies, but I thought to myself "Screw it" and sat down writing like mad on chapter 7...hehehe ^_^ Not that it took me so long, in fact it took me around 2 hours the most to write it. That must be record breaking time for me. Apparently I was too lazy to uploaded it. Sorry guys! ^_^ I must confess there's not much happening in this chapter, except for the whole letter thing. That should keep your minds puzzled for a while....hehehe....I said I'd focus on Vari more and I am... revealing little bits about her. So that's about it, yea...alright...I'm going now....bye...

R/R! I need more reviews!!! Thanks to all that reviewed!!! 


	9. Chapter 8 A Lesson in Name Calling

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh doesn't belong to me...I wish it did! *sobs*

Chapter 8 - A Lesson in Name Calling 

Yugi sat in his room. He had gotten the official postcard about the Duel Monsters Tournament. The Preliminary match was only a week away from today. He looked to his side, as if he were talking to an invisible childhood friend. But rather it was the spirit of his millennium puzzle. 

"This Duel Monsters Tournament is really getting everyone hyped up." Yugi said.

Yami looked at his little companion, the optimism he had was quite amusing. Then again, Yugi was always optimistic about everything. "It'll be a tournament that you'll never forget." he said. 

Yugi's expression turned faint. "I do feel guilty though. We're suppose to be searching for answers to your past..."

The spirit waved it off with his transparent hand. "Maybe it would prove to be a surprise to us all. I have a feeling it will be more then just an ordinary tournament."

"Do you really think so?"

"I know so. I am the pharaoh after all." he said, chuckling a bit. 

"After what Ishizu told us, about you being the pharaoh and all...There just been more questions then answers."

"Yes, I know. Our journey has taken a dramatic turn. I feel that we can only be swept along with it." Yami put on a ponderous face. "About your new friend..." 

"You mean Vari?"

"Yes. She's...something...different perhaps..."

"Really?"

"Something about her..." He muttered half to himself. (A/N: Hmm...sounds familiar... ^_^) He sighed wearily. "I'm not sure."

"Vari does seem to be unique in a way." Yugi said.

"Her father seems notable as well, but I felt some kind of disturbance also. Some kind of strong power lingering."

"He did acted strange after I lend him the puzzle to look at. What's does it mean?" 

"There's no easy answer. Anyhow we need to take a break from all this excessive thinking. We should just focus on the upcoming tournament."

Yugi climbed into bed. "If you say so." The spirit slowly shrank away into the puzzle. Yugi closed his eyes drafting into sleep.

*****

It became sort of an after school routine. For the next three days Vari would go to Kaiba's mansion and each day they would spend two hours trying to train Vari's mind to be practically a human calculator. 

"I think I'm finally getting it" Vari said happily.

"Good, you better or Mr. Hiraku will torture me with his never ending tactless ridicule."

"Always looking out for number one aren't you?" Vari mocked.

"It's survival. He who takes a knife and stabs you, you stab back ten times worse." he quoted. 

Vari held a grimaced face, feeling a little repulsed. "Interesting quote." she said, bothered by his choice of words. 

"It was a popular saying that my adopted father always preached, his lessons revolved on them."

"Hence I see where your lack of trust in people come from." 

"Did you just observe that now?" he said derisive.

"No, I'm just stating it now." She looked at him hard. "Do you really believe in it?"

"I would say I have experience it. When your in a position like mines, there's a lot of suspicions. But I don't think you would understand that." he said rising his eyebrows a little. There was a harsh tone in his voice. He stared back at Vari as if daring her to say something. 

Seto's ruthlessness showed it's true colors. 

There was a long silence. Vari looked away for a moment, but then said "No I guess I wouldn't understand, but then again suspicion is nothing but skepticism. If you have that all the time, how would you gain supporters if all you see are enemies?"

Seto chocked his head slightly, he didn't particularly expect an answer from her. "Another one of you moral issues?" he scoffed.

"Just an opinion." Looking at her watch she said. "Looks like I'd better be going." She grabbed her bag and began to put her things away, that's when Seto saw the Duel Disk System inside. 

"You're entered the tournament?" he asked surprised. 

Vari noticed him peeking through her backpack. "Yep. I'm suppose to practice with Yugi and Joey."

"You sure you know how to duel? You'll probably won't last 5 minutes." he said.

She looked insulted. "I can duel just fine" Vari said reassuringly.

"I'll bet..." he smirked. "I'd expect Yugi to enter. I'd look forward to our match. They must have made a mistake with Wheeler though. That dog won't even make it through the Preliminary."  


"Why do you insist on calling him a dog?" she said defensively.

"Because he is one." 

Vari rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I must be going." she said in irritation.

"You're angry with me, admit it."

"Well, yes, if you must know. You always seem pick on the small people. It's as if you don't want to feel small yourself."

He looked at her unable to say anything. His face was just rendered speechless. 

"That's it isn't it?" she asked. Still he said nothing. His body stood there stiffly, he looked directly at her, but not at her at all, like he was in a trance.

*****

__

"Can anyone tell me what 8+9 equals to? There was silence in the small classroom. "Anyone at all? Don't be afraid." the teacher said. 

A red haired boy raised his hand, his pudgy face held an snooty grin, well as snooty as you can get for a six year old.

"Yes Michael?"

He stood up. "8+9 equals 17!" he shouted. 

The teacher smiled "Very Good Michael! That's correct." The boy sat back down seemingly thrilled that he impressed the teacher with his correct answer. He grinned widely at all the other students showing off that he was the smartest one in class. 

"Now can anyone tell me what 89+89 equals to?" she said jokingly. All of the children had confused looks on their faces. "No, of course not that's why today..."

"It is 178?"

"Excuse me?" the teacher looked in the back of the room. A small quiet boy with brown hair sat nervously still.

"178" he repeated. 

The teacher looked at the boy with curiosity. Her eyebrows rose. "That is correct." She said with a smile. All the students were impressed. The pudgy red head shot a glare at Seto, when the teacher's attention was to the board. He wasn't the smartest boy in class anymore.

"Can I play tag?" little Seto asked. A group of children around the same age were all clustered together in the playground. 

The red haired boy walked up. "No" he sneered. 

"How come?" Seto asked innocently.

"Because we don't like you" he sneered again. His crossed his arms as if the decision was final.

"Why?" he aked confused.

"You cheated when the teacher asked you that question." the red head said hotly. 

"I did not!" yelled Seto.

"Did too!" the boy said angrily. "We all saw him!" he pointed his finger accusingly at Seto. "Right?" he asked his buddies around him. They all seem hesitate but nodded in agreement.

"We don't want to play with a cheater!" he said. "And your ugly!" he added. 

"Yea!" some of the children shouted. "He's got big ears. and weird looking hair." another boy added. 

Seto looked hurt, he didn't think his hair and his ears were weird.

"He's got cooties!" a girl cried out. Everyone scrunched up their faces making "Ewww!" expressions.

"Fine, I don't want to play with you anyway!" he huffed, and walked away angrily. They were mean to him, calling him names, and poking fun of him. Seto decided he would just stick by himself. He didn't need them. He didn't need anyone.

*****

"Seto?" Vari waved her hand in front of his face, he looked hypnotized. "Seto are you OK?"

"I'm sorry" he suddenly said. 

"What?" 

"I'm sorry if I've insulted you."

Vari looked at him quizzically. Before she could say anything the door opened. It was Mokuba. 

"Seto, the office just called, they want to speak with you." 

"Alright. I'll be right there." he said.

There was an awkward silence. Mokuba stood waiting. Vari bite her lip. "I'd better go, you have some business to attend to." she said quietly. The three of them stepped out of the study room. After Mokuba and Seto bid a hasty farewell, Seto went to answer the phone call. 

"You like her don't you?" Mokuba asked. 

"What?" Seto asked, pretending to hear him faintly. "Don't be ridiculous."

"You look at her strangely when you're with her. I think you like her."

"No, no I don't" he argued. He turned abruptly, giving the hint that he didn't want to go into the matter. 

Mokuba glanced at him doubtfully. "Whatever you say."

***** 

Shiro took the letter with him to work. His worst fears had come true. He had had sleepless nights, when his wife asked him what was wrong, he didn't have the heart to tell her. His pace quickened as he reached the room. He walked into the lab, Ishizu was already there. 

"I didn't think you would come in this early" Ishizu said, seeing him walk in. But she noticed the troubled look in his eyes. "What is the matter? she asked. 

"This" he said, lifting his hand up to show her an opened envelop. 

Ishizu held a slight puzzled expression. "Kindly explain." she said.

But he didn't, instead he said to her. "I demand that you tell me your purpose for being here."

"I see..." she said quietly. 

Shiro's patience was growing thin. "This letter was sent to my house, it had no return address, which means whoever sent it knows where I live. It contained a small message." He opened it and showed her the parchment. "I suspect you are connected to this somehow." he said accusingly.

"You believe that I will steal the chest." she stated. 

"There are many suspects. I must included you as one of them." 

"What you say is true. I am connected to this, but I am not the one working against you. In truth I work to find the real conspirator. That is why I am here, that is why I needed to decipher the chest. To find out what it contains inside before they do."

"Who's they?" 

"They are everywhere and they are nowhere. They hide in shadows and in darkness. They are hunters, ruthless and determined, they serve one man." 

Shiro's face grew. "And who is this one man?"

"You already know. You have encountered him before."

A/N: This chapter took longer then expected to write, mostly because I was busy with midterms and stuff and I got a little writer's block for a while there. I didn't plan on writing a small scene on Seto's childhood, but it kind of flowed with the story and I thought to myself, "What the heck I'll write it." It was inspired by A Gifted Child by Ori. One of the best Seto fics around! Go read it if you got the chance! Since I liked it so much, I've decided to write more flashbacks of Seto's past later on in the story, so you can expect more. As there is nothing very interesting in this chapter. But I promise later on it'll have more action. As you can tell, I kinda focused this chapter on a little Seto/Vari ^_^ 

Oh please review! I've taken great pains to think of what to write for this chapter so please don't let my hard work go to waste! R/R! And thanks to all of you who reviewed. I truly appreciated! 


	10. Chapter 9 Dreams and Confessions

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh, but I do own all OC characters in my story...

Chapter 9 - Dreams and Confessions

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She hugged her doll tightly while walking around lost in the desert sands. She had only gone to play with a small lizard she saw, the next thing she knew her mommy and daddy were no where to be found. Panic was beginning to cross her mind, and she began to cry. Still nothing. No one was there. Mommy wasn't there to comfort her. Daddy wasn't there to hug her tight. It was just silence and being only six years old, it was the scariest thing in the world.

Suddenly a man appeared out of nowhere, with a silent stealthy motion. His skin was darkly tanned and he wore a white turban on his head. His expression was gentle and calming. "Are you lost little princess?" he asked. 

The little girl looked up to him and nodded. Tears were rolling down her face. "Mommy and Daddy" she softly cried. 

"Come with me. I will take you back to your mother and father." he said holding out his hand.

She held back for a moment, gripping onto her doll. "Mommy says I should never go with strangers." 

"Do not worry, I will not harm you." he held out his hand again. "Do you want to see magic?" he asked with a small smile. 

"Okay!" she said. Completely forgetting her mother's important rule about strangers. He took her small hand and they began to walk in one direction. 

"Now touch my Millennium Ankh" He revealed the item around his neck and showed it to her. 

"It's so pretty" she said hypnotized by the shiny gold object. She reached out her hand and touched it. Suddenly a swirl of colors emerged from the item, wrapping it's ribbons of gold light around them both. Everything that surrounded them began to dance and twinkle. "Wow!" she said excitedly, not even remotely afraid. Then the light was gone and they were at the excavation site. She could hear her mother calling her name. 

"Cool!" she said amazed. "I wish I have your shiny gold necklace." she said smiling, her tears were all gone by now. 

"When the time comes you will get your very own, little princess." the man said with a smile.

"Vari!" her mother called out from a distance. 

"Mommy!" she called back, waving her arms. Her mother saw her and quickly ran towards her. 

"Vari! Your father and I were looking all over for you! You know you shouldn't wander off like that!" her mother scold. 

"Mommy, Mommy! There was a funny looking man and he can do magic! See he's right over there." she said pointing her finger from behind. 

"What man?" her mother asked. "There's no one there dear."

Vari turned around, he was no where to be seen. "But I saw him! He had a pretty gold necklace and..."

"You have quite the imagination missy, there's no one here. Come, let's get you back to camp." Her mother took her hand and lead her away. But Vari was still convince that it was real.

Her eyes opened slowly. It was still dark outside her window. She read the clock next to her, 3:00 A.M. She groaned a little and stared up at the ceiling laying flat on her bed with no movement at all. A strange dream. She has been having them frequently but the strange thing was that it was mostly about Egypt. Why? you ask? Will there was no answer because Vari didn't know why. Maybe because she missed it for a while, after trying to adjust to life here in Domino City, or maybe because her father talks non- stop about his research, that it was beginning to go right to her head. But there could be a million reasons such as these. They were just dreams nothing more and nothing less. Vari closed her eyes drifting back into sleep once again.

*****

"Only 3 more days till the preliminary!" Joey announced. "I can't wait! I'm going to wipe the floor off of everybody!"

"Nice to see your confidence Joey" Yugi said. They were all sitting at the lunch table and this time Bakura joined them. He gave a small smile. It seemed like Vari was the only one that notice how strange Bakura was. From time to time he would ask her an awful lot about Egypt and about her father's research, not that she mind, it was just the look he gave her sometimes that made her feel uneasy. 

"Does Bakura seem a little strange to you?" Vari whispered to Tea. 

"Bakura? No...I don' think so..." She looked at Vari with a frown. "He's the most normal guy here. Well...compared to those two." she said pointing at Joey and Tristen, who were, as usual, bickering about who gets the last of Yugi's sandwich. 

Vari laughed at the both of them. "I guess I'm just hallucinating about things" Vari reasoned, but she couldn't shake the feeling she had about Bakura. One minute he had a nice smile on his face, the next she notice it turned into a wicked grin. She just shrugged it off and turned her head to the opposite side of the cafeteria. There she saw Kaiba sitting and reading quietly to himself. Vari smiled a little and kept on staring. She didn't notice a hand waving in the front of her face.

"Earth to Vari!" Tristen said. 

Vari blinked and pulled herself back from her trance. She turned and focused her attention back to her friends. 

"What were you staring at?" Tristen asked, trying to peek over her shoulder.

"Oh, nothing..." Vari said quickly. "I was just thinking about the math test tomorrow. I have to do well or else."

"Don't worry, you will." Tristen said reassuringly. "You got Kaiba as a tutor. I still don't know how you manage that...but I have to admit he's the best at the subject."

"I guess..." 

"Eh...Kaiba's just a know it all showoff. He barely even pays attention in class, believe me I know. I have Bio with him unfortunately." Joey said.

"Then why is it that he got the answers right and you didn't?" Tea teased.

"Hey! I still think the teacher gave me a trick question!" Joey argued.

"Okay...Tell me what is Mitosis?"

"Uh..." Joey thought. 

"The process of cell division." Yugi answered for him. 

"Uh...yea I knew that..." said Joey.

"Yeah right..." Tea giggled. 

"Um...Tea can I talk to you for a moment?" Vari asked.

"Sure."

"In private" Vari said. Hinting at the boys sitting next to them. 

"Okay. Girl talk, no guys allowed." Tea said to the boys with a grin.

"They're probably talk about us guys." Joey muttered. Yugi just laughed.

The two went to a secluded area, away from prying eyes that might overhear their conversation. "What's up?" Tea asked.

Vari looked away for a moment she felt like she was going to explode if she didn't tell someone soon. "What do you think of Kaiba?" she asked slowly. 

Tea looked at her confused. "Well..." she gathered her words carefully. "He's not the most pleasant person to be around with. Why do you ask? He's not giving you a hard time is he?"

"No!" Vari said quickly. "It's not that..." 

"Then what's wrong?" 

"It's...It's just that..." Should she tell her? She pause for a second, trying to gather the words. "I think I have a crush on him" she mumbled, barley audible, but Tea heard it quite clearly.

"You have a crush on Kaiba!?" Tea exclaimed.

"Shhh! Tell the whole world why don't you." 

"Sorry, it was just surprising that's all." Tea apologized. She glanced at Kaiba then back at Vari. "When did this happen?" she asked eagerly. 

"I think ever since the Charity Ball."

"No offence or anything, but may I ask why you like him?"

"He's...different...and the weird thing is I don't feel repulsed by him."

"Well that's something new..." Tea said. "Does...Does he know?"

Vari shook her head. 

"Well do you think he feels the same way?" 

"I don't know Tea. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't, but..."

"But?"

"He did act strange yesterday, when I went over to his house."

"What are you going to do? Keep it bottled up?"

"I don't know." In truth Vari never actually thought about that. She was hoping it would go away but it didn't and it bothered her. "You're not mad are you?" 

Tea looked at her curiously "Why would I be mad?"

"Because I actually like an arrogant guy like Kaiba."

"In truth, I'm surprised, but whatever your decision is I'll stick by you." 

"Thank you! You're the best friend a girl could ask for."

"That's my job." Tea grinned. "But uh...I wouldn't want to mention this to Joey. I think he'll explode."

"Gotcha." Vari said. She couldn't be more relieved after getting it out in the open. The two girls walked back to the table. 

Seto looked up from the book he was reading, he didn't know why but he had that feeling you get when you know someone is watching you. He turned his head around. No one was looking directly at him, he frowned and went back to reading, before he did, he notice Vari and her pitiable little group of friends sitting together and chatting. He didn't know why but he had a sneaking suspicion that it was her.

*****

That pleasant afternoon Vari was at Seto's mansion yet again for their usual schedule tutoring. 

"And the Quadratic Formula is..."

"X equals to B, plus and minus, radical B square minus 4 times A and C over two A."

"Finally..." he muttered.

"I think that's the last of the questions." Vari said giving a small sigh of relief. "I finally got it." she said happily. She leaned back a little, giving a stretch. After memorizing equation after equation, her brain was actually starting to pound. 

Seto looked at her with a pondering face. "It was you wasn't it?"

Vari gave a puzzled look. "What?"

"You were the one looking at me during lunch."

Vari couldn't help but blush like a pathetic little school girl. By the look on her face, Seto knew he was right. "Was it that obvious?" she asked embarrassed. 

"No, I have keen sense on these things." 

Vari bit her lip, it wasn't like her to get all girlish but the pit of her stomach was turning inside out. "I have a confession to make..."

"What?" he asked. 

"I...I...um.." _"Just say it!" _she thought to herself. _"Say it!" _her brain yelled. "I like you!" she blurted out.

Seto didn't react to this, in fact he had no emotion at all, like he was expecting it. Vari waited for him to say something. But he face grew and he suddenly began laughing with an insane triumph look.

"You really think you had me fooled didn't you?" 

"What?" Vari stood completely confused. 

"Your, plot, your scheming, I bet you had it perfecally planned."

"What are you talking about Seto?" she asked. 

"You really think I would fall for that? A coincidence that you had me to be your tutor. You knew Mr. Hiraku would go along with it." He said to her. 

"I still don't know what you're talking about" said Vari.

"Don't lie to me. I know what you're after. You're after my money!" 

"What!?" Vari exclaimed. "That's not it at all!" 

"Please! You know how many women swarm over me because of that? I've seen it before. Like vultures just looking for a new carcass.

Vari's face flashed with outrage. "What makes you think that I would be one of them!?"

"You're all the same." he said cruelly.

Vari looked at him with intense anger. "And to think I actually fell for you! You stubborn, pompous, egotistical, moron! I can't believe you!" she shouted. 

"Believe it!" he snapped back at her. 

Vari quickly grabbed her bag and began to shove all her things in quickly. "I'm going! I don't think I can stand anymore of your false accusations!" she exclaimed. She turned towards to door and stomped out of the room. Mokuba was there in the stairway, he could hear the argument all the way from upstairs. Coming down he saw Vari with an infuriated look on her face. 

"Vari? What's going on? Are you leaving?"

"Oh Mokuba..." Vari just noticed Mokuba there, and him seeing her like this was even more discomforting. "I'm sorry Mokuba but I have to go...." she said quietly. 

"Why?" he asked, still unaware of the situation. Before Vari could answer the study room door opened revealing Seto. 

"Are you still here?" he said retorted. 

"I was just leaving" she said hotly. "I have to go Mokuba...I wouldn't want to stand in the way of your brother." she snapped sarcastically at Seto. She walked out hastily. 

"What was all that about?" Mokuba asked his brother, but Seto didn't answer. He stormed upstairs to his room and slammed the door hard. It was the only room his had left in this god forsaken house. The only room where he can truly have his privacy. It was his shelter and his place for contentment. 

"Stupid girl!" he muttered to himself angrily. "I'm not a fool, she thinks she can slip past me for my bank account, she's got another thing coming." He paced around, but he couldn't shake the anger that was churning inside of him. His body grew weary from frustration and he plopped down onto his bed. There he saw the dreamcatcher Vari gave him, dangling above his head. His face twisted with revulsion. He grabbed the dreamcatcher and threw it across the room, which flew all the way to the other end smashing into pieces as it hit against the wall. "Piece of junk" he mumbled angrily. His headache was pulsating in his brain. He closed his eyes, as if it would help stop the throbbing. He didn't notice that he fell asleep instantly when he did. 

__

He found his body laying flat on some cold solid marble. He felt unconscious and his eyes disobeyed his command to open. He just laid there silent and motionless. A rushing wind blew past him. It was so cold that his whole form shivered instinctively.

"Wake up..."

He thought his mind was playing tricks on him but he could have sworn he heard a voice. But he just ignored it, he didn't want to wake up from his sleep.

"Wake up..." the voice softly whispered. 

"Alright!" he grumbled. His tired body slowly getting up on his feet. He stood shocked by the scenery he saw. It was dark empty space. The same place that was in his dreams before.

"Not this again!" he cried out. There was no way out, nowhere to run, even if he tried it was just infinite empty space that could go on forever. He sensed a presence, turning around his eyes caught a figure standing right in front of him. The same cloaked women, who haunted his dreams earlier with her piercing turquoise eyes glazing with intensity. She had a heavenly radiance as well as a dark aura. He didn't know whether to be alarmed or mesmerized.

"Why do you fear emotion?" she asked softly. She almost sounded like the wind. 

"Emotion is weakness." he said harshly. "I learned that a long time ago."

"Don't fear the past, only fear the future." she warned. "The sand begins to pour on you and you will have to face your destiny." she whispered under her veiled face. 

He stood confused. "What are you talking about?" he demanded. But her image began to fade away. He heard taps echoing in his brain.

KNOCK...KNOCK....

Seto woke, almost falling over his bed as his body jerked awake. The taps were coming from his door. 

"Seto?" a voice said. Seto knew immediately it was Mokuba. "Seto are you alright?" 

He grumbled slightly as he got up to open the door. Mokuba stood there with a look of concern etched on his face. 

"Seto! Are you alright?" Mokuba asked again. "You missed dinner."

"I did?" Seto asked, not knowing what time it was, he glance at the clock on the table, it read 9:00 P.M.

"I didn't want to disturb you. But I was worried." 

"I'm fine Mokuba, you don't have to worry about me." he said reassuringly. 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No" He said automatically. He doubt that he can talk about "girl troubles" with his little brother.

"Well...the butler left some dinner if you're hungry." 

"I'll be down in a sec." 

"Okay." Mokuba said. He began walking off to his room, but stopped and said with a sigh "Big brother, you should follow what you feel is in your heart." and with that he left. 

Seto just remained standing there for a while. He felt something under his shoe. Looking down he picked up a piece of the broken dreamcatcher on the floor. Mokuba's words repeated in his mind. _"Follow what you feel is in your heart." _he said. _"I doubt if I even have a heart." _he thought.It was at that moment he realized what he had done. And for the first time he realized the feeling of guilt, shame, and regret.

*****

The warehouse had a misty smell, partially because they were near water and partially because there was the feel of cold darkness. He was seated on a throne which was not lavishly made, but it still held a sense of dominance and superiority. His servants were knelt low on the ground, as if they were worshiping a god. Their eyes looked dazed and hypnotized and their forehead glowed with a strange third eye looking like a sacred symbol. Two servants stood next to their master on each side. You can tell that they were one of top status. He turned to one of them.

"Have you sent the letter?" 

"Yes, my master" he said with a nod.

"Good. And have you received any new information?" 

The servant faltered a little in his speech. He hesitated to say anything.

"Tell me. You cannot resist, for I control you. I can make you tell me willingly or not." he sneered maliciously. 

The servant tried to mustered enough courage. It was to tell him or let his mind be controlled again, which either way he would still suffer the consequences. His voice was faded. "No I could not. I was caught before I had a chance to get the files."

"Dimwitted fool." his master said enraged by his poor lack of service. 

"Please forgive me, master!" he cried out all of a sudden. He knew what was coming next.

"I do not forgive easily. And I do not forgive what one has failed at. You will suffer pain for your idiocy!" 

The servant started to scream. He began clawing at himself and rolling on the floor. "I'm on fire!" he shrieked, but there was no fire. Nothing was on him. It was as if he had gone insane. Yet he still rolled around, twisting and patting on his robes to try and smother the invisible fire.

"The mind easily plays tricks on you." his master sneered with sickening amusement as he watched him scream. The other servants just watched with no emotion at all. With a wave of his gold rod. The man suddenly stopped and blinked, looking at his robes, which were fine. His skin didn't burn nor did his robes turn to ash. 

The master made no distress over the matter. "We have made the first move. That is all they should know." 

A/N: This was the longest chapter to write! I tried to take a bigger step in my writing. I wanted to go more in depth and more detailed. I hope it's good. You can tell me the truth, I don't mind, critique it all you want. Comments, Questions, etc... This chapter was basically another Seto/Vari thing. But I don't want to put them together just yet. I feel that it needs to take time and grow, not something in a rush. And you know Seto is stubborn as hell! I love writing his personality because to me he has a dark and arrogant personality, but it's hard not to pity him with his life. So I'm still having fun with this. *evil grin* hehehe... I hope I didn't go overboard with the evil master (which I know you can guess who he is by now) I wanted to make it really dark. And after reading Harry Potter for the second time I kinda based it on Lord Voldemort. ^_^ 

OK that's enough with my blabbering. I'll leave you to R/R! ^_^ I want at least 6 reviews before I can post the next chapter. If you guys want I can send an email on the next chapter. And a thanks to my loyal readers. You've made writing even more fun for me. 


	11. Chapter 10 Confidential Enigma

Disclaimer - 

Luna: Would someone else like to say the Disclaimer? 

Yami: I would! I would!

Luna: The floor is yours.

Yami: Yu-gi-oh doesn't belong to Luna, but her OCs do! Don't steal them, or else I'll send your soul to the shadow realm!

Luna: Nicely said ^_^ Now on with the show!

Chapter 10 - Confidential Enigma 

"Magic is stirring. I can feel it." 

In the depths of Egypt the wind blew against the large dunes creating dusty sand clouds that grazed against his face. His darkly tanned skin blended with the background, only the white turban he wore on his head could distinguish his form from a far distance. 

"Are you certain Shadi?" his comrade asked. 

"Yes." he answered. "I must go to Domino City." Abruptly, he turned, heading back into the city of Cairo. His cloak swish around as he walked. 

"Only which the bindings be restored, will then the items bring full power." the other man said. They both walked through the bustling streets of the bazaar where market stands sold various exotic objects, mainly to tourists. 

"Until then we are guardians of those items. It is our duty to protect them, until such times the pharaoh returns to us again." 

"What will you do?" 

"I will investigate this matter." he said. "I leave for Domino City as soon as possible." 

"May the gods be with you." said his comrade, slapping a hand on his shoulder. 

"And you, my friend." Shadi replied. They both parted ways, each following their mission towards an uncertain future.

*****

The math exam was long and tedious, but she was glad that it kept her occupied throughout class. When she walked in, she turned her head away at Seto, pretending not to notice him to keep herself away from anymore humiliation since yesterday afternoon's episode. Apparently he was doing the same thing as well. It wasn't until after class when she walked out of the room, a sudden hand grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side.

"What the...Oh it's you..." she seethe inwardly seeing Seto. "What do you want?" she hissed trying to yank her arm away from his grasps. 

He stood with his face looking emotionless as ever but Vari noticed the tired look his eyes. They both stood in awkward silence, feeling like an hour has gone by rather then a minute. 

"Are you going to say anything or should I just leave?" she asked crossing her arms in an impatient manner. 

"What I said yesterday..." he began.

But she cut him off in mid sentence. "I understood perfectly what you said." she retorted.

"No you don't." his bitter voice replied. 

"I realized it was a mistake to say I like you." She suddenly ran off. Seto didn't stop her. He just stood with an aggravated face, glaring at the other students who passed by looking at him with slight confusion. He felt like punching a hole through the wall, he always did have a small temper problem. 

__

"I don't need her..." he grunted and treaded heavily away. 

*****

Vari picked at her school lunch, it was beginning to look like mush. She picked at it some more, looking more depress and distracted then her usual self. Upon seeing this Yugi gave a slight concerned look. "Are you okay Vari?" he asked. 

Vari looked up, as if just noticing him. "Oh..." she said dazed. "I'm...alright." 

"Are you sure?" he asked. "You look...distracted...You've been playing with your lunch for a half an hour now."

But she only half listened to Yugi's words. She pushed her lunch tray away. "Excuse me for a moment." she said, getting up and walking away from the table. The others just stared at her retreated form with confusion. 

"What's eating her?" Joey asked. 

"I don't know." Tea shrugged. "I'm going to find out..." also getting up and secretly following Vari from behind. 

Tea follow Vari out of the cafeteria. Seeing Vari going into the girls bathroom, she almost hesitated to go in after her, maybe she just needed to go to the bathroom. But then again, no one really goes to the bathroom in school, it was god awful, you would rather hold it in and run home. Tea went in, she heard muffled crying in one of the stalls. "Vari?" she spoke. "Are you crying?"

"Tea?" She ducked behind the stall door, quickly wiping her tears away, she didn't want anyone to see her like this. Opening the stall door, she saw Tea standing there with her sympathetic face. 

"What's wrong?" Tea asked. 

"Nothing's wrong I'm fine." Vari protested. Although Tea could plainly see her eyes red from the dry tears. 

"You're horrible at lying. If a stranger walked in here, they'd see something is obviously wrong." 

"You're going to think I'm pathetic." Vari said sulking. 

"No I won't." Tea said. "Can you please tell me? You know you can talk to me about anything."

Vari gave a sigh and slumped down on the floor with her head hung low. "I told Kaiba I liked him." she mumbled. "Why couldn't I keep my stupid mouth shut?"

"Let me guess...he brushed you off like a piece of lint?"

"Not just that, he accused me of trying to seduce him and steal his money!" she exclaimed, boiling with anger. "I mean, of all the lame excuses! He could just say he didn't feel the same way!" she yelled. 

"It's ok." Tea said, trying to calm her friend. "That's the Kaiba we all know. He pays more attention to machines then humans. I think it made him cold hearted." 

Vari gave a small disdainful smile. "I'm feel pathetic crying over this." she said sniffing a little. "I haven't cried since I was six." 

"It's good to let it out once in a while." Tea said reasonably. 

"I thought he was different. When he donated that money to my father's research, he really helped my father out. I thought...I thought he wasn't as heartless as others said he'd be." 

"Sometimes people surprise you. Come on, let's get back to the table."

"No. I think I'll go outside the school grounds. I need some fresh air." she sighed heavily walking out. 

Tea went back to the cafeteria where the boys sat waiting to hear what she found out about Vari's state. After she told them, Joey was the one that blew up. "I'll kick his butt!" he cried out, the whole cafeteria turned and looked at him. "What you all looking at?" he exclaimed. They quickly turned away. "No one messes with my friends." he said. 

"I don't think that's the solution Joey." Yugi said. 

"Yeah, tell that to my fist!" Joey exclaimed, pulling a threatening fist up. 

Yugi gave a hopeless look at Joey. As much as he didn't like Kaiba's impossible cruel attitude, there wasn't much they could do except maybe try to knock some sense into the stubborn guy. 

*****

"We should open it." Shiro declared. He set the chest on a table. It looked like a surgical table with various tools laid across on a tray next to him. He took one of the chisels and began to pry the small opening. 

"You cannot open it. It is magically sealed." Ishizu warned. "As the inscriptions stated." 

"There's obviously something in here." Shiro argued. He tried to break the small opening on the side of the box. Without warning his tool snapped apart like a twig. He frowned, looking at the broken tool. "Damn cheap thing." he mumbled to himself. He tried again this time prying another tool into the opening with all his might.

"I don't think..." Ishizu began, but she suddenly notice golden sparks coming out from the chest. Her eyes went wide. Immediately she grabbed Shiro's arm and forcefully pulled him away, both went skidded across the floor, ducking behind a table. The chest began to shake by itself. It brought out a gold electric beam that shock the whole table area, like a 1000 electric volts. The box stopped, a moment later it subsided. The two emerged from behind the table cautiously. 

"What the hell was that!?" Shiro cried out. Once danger passed, he boldly went over to the lab table. The whole surface area where the chest was place was burnt black. The tools left there were melted away. Only the chest remained unharmed and unscathed. 

"I told you. You cannot open it." she said, unshaken by what had just happened. 

"This doesn't seem strange to you at all?" he asked in disbelief. She just stared with no expression.

"Only the one whom the chest belongs to can open it." she quoted, pointing at the inscriptions carved on the box. "Only then can it be unlocked." 

"Okay...I'm a believer in all this hocus pocus superstitions." he said convinced. "We can't open it can we? The person whom it belongs to died over 3 thousand years ago!"

"This proves whatever is inside can be dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands. There's a reason why they put a magic spell on it." said Ishizu. "We'll need extra security just in case."

Shiro nodded. "I'll talk to the director about that. I'm sure he'll agree."

"And no one will go near the chest except you or me. We can't afford anyone getting hurt."

The door suddenly flung open revealing Nyri and Hajime, who were roughly pushing each other trying to get in. 

"What is going on around here!" Haijme demanded. "I heard strange noises all the way across the hall." 

Nyri looked over at the table were the chest was. "What happen to the table?" he asked with puzzlement.

"It was..." Shiro began, but Ishizu cut him off.

"It's nothing. We were just experimenting." she said quickly. 

"And you burnt the table in the process?" Hajime asked. He gave a suspicious glance at Shiro and Ishizu. 

"It was just a little accident." Ishizu merely said.

"From now on this is strictly off limits. You'll need clearance to get in." Shiro said. 

"That's outrageous!" Hajime cried out. "I'm going to talk to the director." 

"He approved it already" Shiro lied. "It's just security measures." 

"There's something going on here. I'm going to find out what." Hajime stomped out of the room. 

Shiro rolled his eyes in annoyance at the man. "I better do some damage control." he whispered to Ishizu. 

Nyri, who was still confused, approached Shiro with concern plastered on his face. "What's really going on Shiro?" he asked. 

"Nothings going on." Shiro said in assurance. He began walking out, but Nyri stopped him in his tracks. 

"Don't lie. I'm your friend Shiro." he reminded him. "You can tell me." 

"I can't" he said and left Nyri standing as he walked out of the room. 

*****

That night Seto, shifted a little in his bed. His face twisted on his pillow. It had been such an exhausting day, that all he wished was a peaceful night's rest, but it prove to be the exact opposite of what Seto got...

__

Darkness in the bottomless pit from years of his harden heart. It was all coming back to haunt him. 

"I want out!" he screamed. "Let me out!" He stretched out his arms and tried to claw at darkness and space hoping in some way that he might somehow rip apart it's darken walls and be released, his mind went into hysterics. 

Swiftly and silently the cloaked woman approached him with ease and gentleness, that it soothe his raging state a bit. He stared at her with the utmost fascination . He wondered if she was even human, feeling the radiance glowing off of her.

"Darkness approaches on swift wings." she murmured softly. Her voice sounded dire. Her turquoise emerald eyes unsettled in emotional distress. It actually ached when he saw her eyes in grief. 

"What do you want with me?" he questioned. 

But all she spoke were "Set ba netjer tepy" in a strange Egyptian language. "You will face your destiny...my love..." 

Seto's body shot up, he felt sweat roll down his forehead. And stared out the night sky from the window of his room. His dreams were more of a nightmare then mere fantasies. That last phrase she spoke, held a mystery to it. He didn't know what it meant, but he know where he could find out.

A/N: Sorry about the slow update. This chapter took me so long to write. Stupid writer's block! Plus midterms and studying and my bro bugging me to death that I can't get any work done! You can go smack him for me. ^_^ hehehe. Another character is introduced...Shadi!...I don't think that many fics has him so I felt sorry for the poor fellow and wrote him in the story. He does have an important job after all. ^_^ You can tell me the truth. If it sucks, if it's good, maybe suggestions or what I need to improve. Feel free to express your opinions. That's what reviews are for! And also I read over my past chapters and couldn't help but gagged on how I could have written it better here and there and found grammar mistakes...bleah...o well...my writing is evolving as I go along so I'm writing a little better now...

A note on the Egyptian phrase I put up there. It's Egyptian (or at least I think so) but don't rely heavily on the words because it probably doesn't makes sense. I tried to translate the best I could. It was derived from bits and pieces of names like Men-maat-re which means Eternal is the Justice of Re. And don't worry you'll find out what it means in the next chapter. If anyone out there can speak Egyptian, it's probably very very horribly translated. So I wouldn't suggest using it.

Also this story is far from getting to the end. I predict that there'll be 10 chapters or more to come! And it'll get more exciting too. So that's a good thing to hear right? O_o Well your stuck with me...hehehe... Okay that's enough from me! *takes a deep breath* 

Thanks to Setine Kaiba for advertising my story, that was so nice of you! ^_^ And thanks to Bakura45, Ori, darkmagic, Daughter of the Moon, Navi-Zero, and Arayuldawen for their reviews on my last chapter. Keep on reviewing! 


	12. Chapter 11 The One

Disclaimer: Yu-gi-oh is the property Kazuki Takahashi. 

A/N: Dreams, Thoughts and Conversations with Yami spirits are all in italics.

Chapter 11 - The One

Mr. Hiraku held a smug look on his face as he stared intently at the tense class. Standing up from his desk he had in his hand the exams from yesterday. Everyone held their breath. 

"Most of you did fairly well. I'll walk around and hand back your exams." he began passing back the papers to each student. Everyone breathed a little easier, but there was that word _most _that still had students worried. As for Vari, she silently prayed. This was the test that would determine if she stays or gets the boot out of honors. She notice some of the students fainting right on the spot, others pulling their hair out, and a few who even began to cry. She didn't realized how getting a simple paper back would be this nerve racking. Mr. Hiraku was only 3 seats away from her. Crossing her fingers for a bit of luck, she braced herself for the worse.

"Congratulations Miss. Mayoto it looks like you'd be staying with us after all." Mr. Hiraku said. 

Vari took the paper and stared. A 98%. She felt like jumping for joy in triumph. But she resisted the urge and just sat with a huge grin on her face. 

"And your paper Mr. Kaiba." he practically thrust it at Seto. 

There was no surprise. He got a 100% again. He even got the extra credit right making it 105%. Seto just shoved the paper away in his notebook without a care. 

"I think having Mr. Kaiba as your tutor proved to be a good decision. Your grade has improved." Mr. Hiraku said with a smirk to indicate that it was his idea that made Vari pass. 

Vari looked away instantly from embarrassment feeling a little awkward. Mr. Hiraku always had to shatter a good moment, even if he didn't do it on purpose. Seto on the other hand didn't say a word and just looked at the man. Vari notice the dark bags under his eyes, which look swollen and worn-out. Seto looked away the moment he became aware of her staring at him. She couldn't help but feel a little bit worried. 

*****

"Cheer up Vari." Tristen said. "Look I know that Kaiba is a jerk and all..."

"You don't get it." Vari said. 

Tristen blinked. "What's there to get?" he asked thoughtlessly. "Ow!" Tea elbowed his stomach hard. Tristen realized what he just said. "Sorry...What I meant was..."

Vari broke in. "It's not just that... Did you ever like someone so much that it hurt to see your heart broken later on?"

Tristen felt surprised, he didn't know what to say. 

"I understand. It's hard getting over a huge crush." Tea said

"I appreciate you trying to make me feel better guys. But I'll get over it on my own, Okay? Don't worry about me." She stood up from the table. "I'm going to go out for a little bit by myself." She turned, but bumped against a strong firm arm. "Sorry..." she looked up. "Oh..." she mumbled, feeling awkward again.

"You should watch where you're going." Seto glowered. 

Vari walked out of the cafeteria without another word. His head turned with a look of disappointment at her retreated form.

"What's your problem Kaiba!" Joey exclaimed from the table. "Can't ya see you hurt the poor girl, you selfish @%$#!" (A/N: rated PG people! I'll leave it to your imagination)

"I don't think that's any of your business Wheeler!" Seto hissed. 

"I making it my business!" Joey said, practically jumping from the table. Both Tristen and Yugi had to hold him back from beating the snot out of Kaiba. "Let me at him!" he cried out. 

"Easy man!" Tristen said.

"Joey! Your going to get yourself in trouble!" said Yugi.

Seto laughed. "Still need a leash for a dog."

"Why I oughta! Just let me throw a punch at him!" 

"No Joey!" Yugi said, grabbing onto his arm and pulling him back. "Just calm down!" 

"Alright!" said Joey. "I'm cool...Just let go of my arm." 

Yugi and Tristen slowly let go of him, but still stood ready if Joey have an outburst again. 

*****

__

"Kaiba's acting more ruthless then his usual ruthlessness." Yugi noted, conversing with the spirit in his soul room.

"He's being defensive because of denial." Yami observed. 

"Denial?" Yugi asked. 

"He loves her."

"What?" Yugi said in disbelief.

"He loves her." Yami repeated. "Even though he's too stubborn to admit it."

"How do you know?" Yugi asked.

"Trust me I know." 

*****

"Wheeler needs to be trained." Seto sneered. Joey clutched his fist together gritting his teeth. 

"Joey..." Yugi warned. "We don't want trouble Kaiba." 

"Then I suggest Wheeler keeps his nose out of people's business." Seto said.

"I don't see how anyone can like someone like him." Joey muttered to Yugi. Yugi gave a look. "I can't wait till the tournament, so I can cream you!" Joey said.

"I'm quivering in my boots Wheeler." Seto said sarcastically. "A ten second duel with you will send you packing home. As for you Yugi. You're the one I'm most looking forward to duel with." he smirked. "And I'm not planning on losing again."

Yugi nodded. "I'll be ready Kaiba." 

*****

Maaya Mayoto looked up from the book she was reading (A Household Guide to Exotic Cooking) when she heard the doorbell rang, noting the impatient feeling as it kept on ringing nonstop. "I'm coming!" she said, dashing quickly to the front door. She opened it to see who was making such a fuss. Her face frowned a little. "Oh Mr. Yamada..." she said quietly, certainly surprised to see him and at the same time slightly annoyed. 

"Mrs. Mayoto..." he said formally, with a slick tone in his voice. 

"Is there anything I can help you with?" she asked in her most courteous voice she could muster. 

"Yes..." he drawled out. "It concerns your husband, I'm afraid. May I come in?" he asked at her lack of manners. 

Maaya notice that. "Of course. Please come in." Although she had half the mind to just slam the door in his face, but noting that it was about her husband, she better sit this one out. "What about my husband?" she inquired. 

"The director and I are a little concern with what your husband has been doing. He sent for me to come over and talk to you." he lied. "Tell me, has Shiro been acting peculiar lately at home?" 

"Well...he's been coming home very late for the past few days. And frankly I'm a bit concern."

"Did he say anything to you?" he asked. "About the project he's been doing."

"No, nothing, he didn't say a word. He's stopped talking about it for a few days." But then she remembered something. "Although he did mention something about Udjat." 

Hajime's eyes glowed with interest. "Udjat, that means the 'sound eye' doesn't it?" he asked. 

"I believe so, yes." 

"I see..." 

"Why do you need to know this? What's going on with my husband Hajime? Just tell me, please." she pleaded. 

"He's being very secluded. That is all I know." 

"That's not like Shiro." Maaya said. 

"If there is nothing else you know then I will be going." he turned hastily. "Thank you for your time."

Maaya showed him to the door, leaving her bewildered. At the same moment Vari had just come home from school, looking rather sulky. 

"I'm home mom." she said. dropping her book bag on the usual floor spot. "Hey what was Mr. Yamada doing here?" she asked. "I saw him walking down the street." Her mother didn't answer, she just stared off into space. "Mom?" she waved her hand into front of her mother's face. 

Her mother blinked. "It's nothing. He just came over to talk to me about something." 

"Oh..." she said. They both heard the doorbell ring. "I'll get it," Vari said. She twist the door knob open. A darkly tanned man stood with a charming look on his face. "Hey Nyri." she smiled.

"Hey kiddo." he said, ruffling though her hair. 

"I'm not a little kid anymore, Nyri." Vari huffed trying fixing her now tangled hair. 

"Nah you'll still be a little kid to me." he laughed, ruffling through her hair some more. Vari tried to get away with no avail. "Hey quit it!" she cried out. Vari stuck out her tongue at him childishly. He stuck his tongue back at her, in amusement. 

"Do you two ever stop acting like children?" Maaya asked, interrupting their fun.

"Nope, never have, never will." Nyri said proudly. 

Maaya gave a whole hearted laugh, it felt good, not the way she was feeling before. Her spirit seemed lifted. "Okay, that's enough you two." she said. 

"I have to talk to your mom. So skittle away." he told Vari. 

"If anyone needs me. I'll be in my room." Vari said, closing the bedroom door behind her. 

Maaya turned to face Nyri. "Want anything to drink?" she asked casually. 

"No thanks, I'm good. Oh yeah, by the way, I bumped into Hajime on the street. Not a pleasant encounter." he muttered. 

"Yes, he came over for a little interrogation." Maaya said irritated. 

He furrowed with confusion. "What about?" 

"He was questioning me about Shiro's project." she answered. 

Nyri's raised his eyebrows. "Oh really? What did you say?" 

"I didn't say much...How could I have? All I could mention was something about an Udjat, that I heard Shiro mumbling once." 

__

"The Udjat?" Nyri pondered in his mind. His expression turned serious. "Maaya...about Shiro..." He looked at her hard with deep apprehension. "He's been acting so weird lately. Like he's off in a different world. Every time I tried to ask him something, he turns me away. He won't even let the staff go near the chest except himself and Ishizu."

Maaya couldn't help but feel a pinch of jealousy, upon hearing another women's name. Nyri gave no notice. "You would think that it's life or death with those two." he continued, chuckling at his own joke. 

Maaya just nodded and smiled, keeping her thoughts to herself. Hearing a ringing sound, she picked up the telephone. Nyri hushed up immediately. 

"Hello...? Shiro? Oh...okay...No I understand..." she paused for a moment. "He's here with me right now...Do you want to talk to him?...Alright...Yes I will...Bye." she clicked the phone on the receiver not noticing that she clicked it a little too hard, making Nyri jump. "That was Shiro." she said. 

"What did he say?"

"He said he'll be coming home late...as usual" she sigh. "He seems awfully in a rush."

"Probably off deluging into work." Nyri said. 

"I don't know. I just don't know." 

*****

Seto was typing vigorously on his laptop. Not paying attention to anything but the screen of data. He was so tired, but that didn't stop him. The Duel Monsters Tournament was tomorrow and there was still much more work to be done. There was a knock on his door. "Come in." he said, his eyes still focused on the laptop. 

A spiky haired head peeked through the door. "Seto?" It was Mokuba. 

"What is it Mokuba?" he asked tensely. 

"You should take a break Seto." 

"I can't I have to get this done! I'm on a deadline here." he said a little louder then he meant to. 

"But Seto...your about to collapse soon, let someone else do it."

"And have them mess it up? No thanks." he said, still rapidly typing. 

"You've barley had any sleep! How are you going to even duel tomorrow?" Mokuba exclaimed.

"How do you even know I've had enough sleep?" 

"I hear you sometimes, waking up in the middle of the night. I heard you calling out to someone. What is it that you dream about big brother?"

"It's nothing." 

"Is it Vari?" 

"I don't want to hear it Mokuba." Seto said. 

"But Seto..."

"Mokuba!" Seto said aggravated. His temper was back again. "I have work to do..." 

"I'll leave if you promise me that you'll get some rest." he requested. 

Seto finally lifted his head away from the laptop and looked thoughtfully at his little brother. He could never be mad at him. Seto sighed. "I promise Mokuba." He meant it truthfully. 

Mokuba was convinced, but that didn't stop him from being worried. His brother was acting more and more strange day by day. There was only one thing he could think of that might help. He had a plan. 

***** 

After Mokuba left, Seto stopped abruptly and rotated his leather chair towards the window in back of him. Staring outside from the clear glass, his thoughts wondered. Mokuba was right about one thing, the dreams he had were pulsating through his mind. There was something he could do, and he had to do it now. 

__

"I promised Mokuba..." he thought. _"But this is more important."_ Getting up from his chair, he walked out the door. "I'm going out for a little while." he told one of the household butlers. "Don't tell Mokuba."

"Yes Sir." the butler nodded. 

The sleek black limo was already waiting outside. "Take me to the Domino Museum." he told the driver.

*****

Daybreak reached the Domino City harbor, the sun setting over the horizon with it's orange rays shimmering on the ocean waters. But inside the abandon warehouse was a different story.

"What have you learned?" his eyes glowing with anticipation.

His servant stuttered in his speech. "I have sought information from the wife." he said. 

"And?" his master asked impatiently.

"She has mentioned the Udjat. The sound eye of Horus, sacred symbol of the pharaohs." 

To his master's delight that was exactly what he wanted to hear. The servant gave sigh of relief. 

"Did she suspect anything?" his master asked. 

"No. She did not." he answered dully. "But there is still the security measures to deal with."

"No doubt that my sister is behind it." he looked fiercely. "I'll leave you to deal with it. I don't care how you do it, but bring me that box." he glared. "Don't screw it up." 

"What of the other? I fear that he might suspect me."

"Kill him. I want no one standing in my way." 

The servant gulped and nodded obediently. He walked off with his task at hand.

Another darkly robed man appeared beside his master, his dark skin face held scars across his cheek. "You should have let me handled it. I fear we cannot trust him" he said doubtfully. 

"He cannot escape my control on him. I have another job for you. Are you up to it?" 

He nodded. "Yes. The Duel Monsters Tournament begins tomorrow. I am ready. What about your sister?"

"I will deal with my sister in my own way." he sneered menacingly. "Everything is falling into place."

*****

Seto stood inside the Domino Museum entrance, waiting patiently. He saw a person walking slowly out of one of the hallway exhibits.

"You wish to speak with me Seto Kaiba?" Ishizu asked, approaching him. 

"I understand that you are a scholar in Egyptology." Seto stated plainly. 

"I am." she said. "May I asked why you've come to seek me?" 

He gave an irritated glare. Trying to hold his superior CEO appearance. "My reasons are my own."

"I see..."

"All I want is for you to translate this saying. Set ba..." 

"...netjer tepy" she finished subconsciously. 

"Yes how did you know?" 

A great wave of astonishment was clearly shown on her face, but she quickly wiped it away. "That saying is from an ancient prophecy." she explained. "It was part of a cult from the Old King..."

"I didn't ask for a history lesson." Seto stopped her. "I asked what it meant." 

"It means Seth, soul of first prophet." she answered, fixing her eyes on him. 

There was confusion written on his entire face. "Great. I wasted my time. I still don't know what the heck it means." he muttered to himself. 

Ishizu stared at him knowingly. "Let me ask you a question Kaiba." Ishizu said. "Do you believe in fate?" 

Seto frowned. "No. I don't."

"And why not?" she asked.

"Because I don't believe in anything controlling my future." 

"Ironically fate works in many ways. A preordain method I would say. Destiny calls for you Kaiba and you can only accept it."

Seto smirked at her silly statement. "Sounds stupid to me."

Ishizu just smiled. "A man's belief is his own."

"Thank you for your time." he said curtly. "I will be going." trying hard not to bolt out of there so quickly.

Ishizu nodded, watching him walk out the museum entrance and into his limo. The gold eye necklece she wore around her neck glowed brightly. 

__

"He is the one." 

A/N: What's inside the chest? Why is it so important that everyone wants to get a hold of it? Who's the mysterious servant? Will Vari ever stop sulking? Will Seto ever stop being a stubborn prick? What's the deal with Ishizu? What's Mokuba's plan? Will Yugi and Yami ever figure out the past and take on Seto's challenge? And what the hell happen to Bakura? Find out in the next chapter of YuGiOh the Wakening. 

I've made this a very long chapter. Lots of things waiting to be unraveled. Calling "the chest" is beginning to sound so lame, it's driving me nuts!!! But the story has to progress it's own way *sigh* I bet you really like it know what's inside. Well I'm not telling!!! Not yet anyways...you'll have to stick around and find out. Don't you just hate me for that? 

R/R! Tell me what you think about the chapter! And I'll be sure to continue as soon as I can if I get lots of reviews! Happy reading! ^_^


	13. Chapter 12 Operation Matchmaker Mokuba

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh nor any of the characters. Original Characters in this story is the property of Luna. 

Chapter 12 - Operation: Matchmaker Mokuba

Early the next morning, the street was expectedly crowded at the Domino City Town Square. There was hardly any room to get by as Vari furiously tried to find her friends through the mass of people. The postcard said to come at 10 o'clock AM, obviously Vari should have come much earlier. 

She decided to called out to her friends. "Yugi! Joey!" she yelled as loud as she could.

"Vari!" someone shouted her name. Her head swiveled around, a hand poke through the sea of people, waving vigorously at her. With about twenty people in front of her, Vari pushed through aggressively, until at last she saw the familiar faces she had been searching for. 

"Hey guys!" she said with relief. 

"Vari! Can you imagine this many people showing up to the tournament?" Tea said with amazement. 

"Yeah. I can't believe it either." Vari said. 

"Now we know how big this tournament really is." Tristen stated. 

"So what do we do now?" Joey asked. He wiped out his postcard from his pocket. "It just said to come at ten with our duel disks."

"I guess we just wait, like all the other people." Yugi said. 

"I wish they hurry up!" Joey complained. "When are they going to start!?" he yelled, loud enough for others to hear him.

"A little anxious are we?" Vari teased, poking his arm and grinning with amusement.

"Hey. I can't lose my dueling spirit! I need to battle while I'm still fresh."

Tea rolled her eyes. "Yeah...right Joey..." she laughed. 

"Well it shouldn't be long." Yugi said, and as he did, sure enough an invisible loud speaker caught their attention. 

"Ladies and Gentlemen! We welcome you to our 10th annual Duel Monsters Tournament! But do you actually have what it takes? ("Hell Yeah!" Joey screamed out, while Tristen held his eccentric buddy down) This is your chance to prove yourself! See if you have what it takes to survive and claim the number one title as duel monsters champion!" 

The crowds gave a definite roar, cheering loudly and anxiously awaiting the last of the announcement before the official start of the match.

"In order for us to start each of you has been sent an official postcard, but on it is a specific number for each individual on the top right hand corner." 

All the contestants pulled out their postcards, checking the number. Everyone along with Vari, Yugi, and Joey.

"Hand in the postcard with the number at one of the nearby desks standing by and be paired up anonymously. All match ups will be random and you will have to compete against them in today's preliminary match, whomever the winner is will go on in the Duel Monsters Tournament, and the losers will be eliminated. With all that said...LET THE PRELIMINARIES BEGIN!" 

As the loud speaker uttered the last word of the opening speech a herd of people rushed up to the nearest desk available, knocking each other over in the process. 

"Come on!" Joey said, running like everyone else to get himself matched up. 

"Joey slow down! We're right behind you!" Vari called to the hasten guy. 

"Wait. There's a desk with less people over there." Tea said pointing at the vacant corner. 

"Come on Joey." Vari said dragging him by the collar of his shirt. The five of them strolled over. Joey the most anxious out of all of them, slapped his card on the table and startled the poor woman standing by. 

"Alright! Match me up." he said to her. "Let's see the sucker that's gonna duel me." he grinned widely. 

"Your name is Joey Wheeler...number...556..." she typed on the registered computer. "The number given to you is your registered ID number. Because the tournament is within the 3 mile radius of the area the number given to each competitor will makes it easier for us to track..." she explained. 

"You mean we're being watched?" Joey asked. 

"Why yes...it's programmed on your duel disk systems. We can record the duel on the computers to keep track of the competition. It also prevents cheating when no authorized personnel is around."

"Whoa...I didn't know that." said Joey with amazement. 

The computer clicked onto the flashing monitor. "Scanning for compatible challenger..." it read on the screen. A blinking window popped up with a picture of a shaved blue haired mohawk man, looking around his early twenties.

Name: Neil Crusher 

"He looks kinda freaky." Tristen said examining the picture

"This will be your opponent." the woman said. "The duel will take place by the Town Square water fountain. Your opponent will be waiting for you there."

"Yes! Three words...I'm gonna win" he smirked.

"Alright, alright, quit hogging Joey. My turn." Vari said.

"Ah...Vari Mayoto...ID 557" the woman said. She waited till the computer retrieved the results. "Your opponent will be Joule Zen. Your duel will take place west of the Square Park." Vari nodded with her assigned opponent and location. "And last but not least Yugi Moto...ID...558...your opponent will be Eli Gregory. Match held east of Square Park." 

"That means we're all split up." Yugi said a little disappointed. 

"The tournament will begin approximately 15 minutes. "Good luck to you all." she smiled. 

"Thanks" Yugi said kindly. "I guess we go our separate ways. Let's meet back here when were done."

Everyone nodded in agreement. 

"Hey wait up guys!" Bakura shouted trying to catch up with them.

"Bakura! You decided to come along too?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah, well...with everyone talking about it. It's hard not to." he said.

"You're just in time, the duel is about to start!." Tea said. 

"Alright." said Bakura. Without warning he felt a strange presence with a sudden jolt of great power waking his senses. His instincts told him it was close by, but where? His eyes darted to the corner alley. 

*******

"Hack into the system." he commanded. His feeble servants obeyed without hesitation. They quickly started up the program on the portable laptop. "Breaking into the tournament records will be child's play." he said with an evil smirk. "They won't notice a thing."

"Preparations are ready" his servant informed. 

"Good. We'll enter the competition and no one will be able to know the difference." he paced around with anticipation. "After all these years I will finally confront _him_."

"I don't suppose I should turn you in with the authorities." a voice said. 

The master whirled around at the sudden intruder, with his rod griped tightly in his hands ready to attack. "Who are you?" he demanded. A white haired boy appeared from the shadows of the alley.

"Someone who will inform the authorities of your illegal actions." he warned.

The master gave a death glare, but his body stood unfazed by the boy's threats. "And what makes you think, you'll ever get out of here alive to do it?" he snarled. He clapped his hands together twice. Soon 5 dark purple robed servants came to his aid. "You can be another one of my mind slaves." he laughed, holding his millennium rod up. It started to glow, ready to possess Bakura's mind as his own. 

"Not so fast!" Bakura said, holding up his own millennium item.

"What!? The millennium ring!" he said with astonishment. He looked quizzically at the boy. "What are you?"

"A person who wants your millennium item!" 

__

"He can be of use..." he thought. "So you want my item do you?" he grinned. "I can give you my item...but for a price of your service..." he said with a sly tone. 

"I'm no one's lackey!" Bakura shouted. "I can kill you if I wanted to. I have the millennium eye as well and the ring, you can't stand against two items!" 

"But...what if I can provide you with the rest of the millennium items? Destroy me and you destroy the location of the rest of the items." 

Bakura felt temptation seeping through him. He couldn't help but think of all the millennium items he will claim. The feeling of greed was uncontrollable. Bakura lowered his defenses just a little. "Why should I trust you?" 

"Why should you not? I have one item you seek, with my knowledge you have more to gain if we forge a partnership."

"I know more then what you give me credit for." Bakura sneered.

"Perhaps..." he grinned. _"But not everything..." _he thought.

Bakura considered his offer. "Maybe we can work something out."

*******

"Competitors start!"

LP Joey: 2000LP Crusher: 2000

"Ready to duel wimp?" Neil Crusher said.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Joey replied. "And maybe after the duel I can give you some hair advice." He smirked, indicating Crusher's blue mohawk head.

"Never mock the hair! Make your move!"

"Touchy..." Joey muttered. "I'll play one card face down in defense mode and I place two face down cards, just to keep you guessing." 

"Trying to be cautious? I'll also play two cards face down and bring out Pale Beast in attack mode. Let's see what your face down card is! I attack with Pale Beast! 

"Not so fast! Activate magic card. Block attack, shifting your monster into defense position. I have a few moves planned." 

"Nothing but cheap tricks I bet." Crusher smirked. 

"Just wait...I place my monster Girochin Kuwagata in attack mode and shift my defense monster, Neo the Magic Swordsman into attack position as well. Since your Pale Beast is still up in attack mode I'll wipe it off with Magic Swordsman lowering your life points by 200. Leaving you wide open for my Kuwagata to reduce your life points by 1700." The holographic image dashed up to Crusher's beast, slicing it with his slender blade. The monster disintegrated from the field. 

LP Joey: 2000 LP Crusher: 100

"What!" Crusher exclaimed. _"How could he just wipe out 1900 of my life points with a single turn!?" _

Joey grinned at the expression on the other man's face. "You have to admit, that was a sweet move." Joey laughed. 

"I place one card face down. And put this monster face down in defense." Crusher sighed. He can't risk his life points. He could be taken out by a single attack. _"But little does he know I have tricks up my sleeve as well..."_

Joey felt a winning edge. "I attack your face down defense monster. Then I could cream you when you have no more monsters on the field. Magic Swordsman attack!" 

"Activate Enchanted Javelin!" Crusher cried out. His trap card was reveal onto the holographic field. "Instead of destroying my monster, you just helped me increase my life points equal to that of your Swordsman, which is by 1700!" He grinned. 

LP Joey: 2000LP Crusher: 1800

Joey blinked. He was so close to winning to match! Grumbling at Crusher for messing up his strategy. 

"I play Prevent Rat in attack mode! And I'll use the magic card shield and sword to switch it's attack of 500 and defense of 2000. More then enough to wipe out your Swordsman!" The armadillo looking monster from Crushers side gave a tremendous blow with it's boosted attack power sending Joey's Swordsman to the graveyard. "That's not all! I play magic card Ookazi inflicting 800 points of direct damage to you life points." Crusher said, throwing back his sharp blue head giving a triumphant laugh. "And your Kuwagata isn't strong enough to destroy my monster. So don't even try."

LP Joey: 900LP Crusher: 1800 

Joey was shocked by the sudden turn of events. _"Don't faze out Joey..." _he thought to himself. He drew out his card, it had to be a card that counted. He can't loose this first match, that'll just be embarrassing. _"Come on. I need a card that could get me out of this..."_ He grinned to himself. _"This might work...combine with this..." _He placed his card onto the duel disk projector. "I play the magic card Fissure destroying your monster with the lowest attack. And since all you have is Prevent Rat, it'll be sent to the graveyard." Crusher's Prevent Rat shattered into nothing. "Get ready to loose because I'm going to finish this. Attack with Kuwagata!." 

LP Joey: 900 LP Crusher: 100

"What! I'm back to 100 life points!" Crusher gave a leer at Joey. 

"But that's not all." Joey said, shaking his finger. "I play Just Desserts, inflicting 500 points." A stunning blast struck Crusher's side of the field. Crusher tried to shield himself, even though it was all holographic it felt real, the wind blowing at his face. When he opened his eyes there was nothing. 

LP Joey: 900 LP Crusher: 0

"That was a great match." Crusher said, shaking Joey's hand in congratulations. 

"Hey you weren't so bad yourself there." Joey smiled. 

"Perhaps, next time we meet, my dueling skills will improve."

Joey nodded. "And maybe next time you can grow out that stiff axe on your head." Joey teased. 

*******

"Guys!" Joey called out. Yugi Tea, Tristen, and Bakura stood waiting 

"Joey! How did you do? I'm anxious to know." Tea asked. 

"By the look on you face, I'd say it went well." Tristen observed, noticing the wide smile on Joey's face. 

"Piece of cake." said Joey. "I bet Yugi won like always." he indicated to Yugi. 

"Yep." Yugi said.

"You should have seen it. Yugi clobbered him!" Tristen exclaimed.

"It wasn't that great." Yugi said modestly. 

"That was a pathetic duel." Seto Kaiba grumbled. Just coming from his own match. His opponent was weak. It didn't even last more then five minutes before he brought out his blues eyes white dragon and quickly wiped him off with a single attack. It was probably the quickest duel ever played. He walked, looking as tired as ever but when he saw the little pitiable group friends he decided he needed some amusement. He approached with his all too well, high class, CEO style. "Did I hear Wheeler actually winning a match?" Kaiba asked, overhearing their conversation. Mokuba was also there standing by his brother's side like always. 

"Surprised Kaiba? Pretty soon, you'll see me in the finals" Joey said. 

"And then I can clear you out, just to wipe that smirk off your face." Kaiba leered.

"Whatever Kaiba" Joey replied. "Did Vari come back yet?" he asked, noticing one person missing from their group. 

"We're still waiting for her." answered Yugi. "Wait, here she comes." seeing Vari stroll over to them. Her face was hinting a big success with her duel. 

"I actually won my first match!" she exclaimed, slapping Tea a high five. "Hey Mokuba." she greeted with a smile, just noticing the two. "And Seto." she added hastily. 

"That's great Vari" Mokuba said. "Congratulations."

"Thanks. I guess were defiantly in the competition."

"Not for very long." Seto smirked. He couldn't help saying it, it's a habit. 

"Whatever you say." Vari said, giving no regard to his statement. 

Seto's jacket pocket gave a loud ring. He shoved his hand into his pocket, taking out his cell phone and answering it. A wave of annoyance came over Seto's face. Clicking his cell phone off he gave Mokuba a look he knew all too well..._work_. "Come on Mokuba. We're needed back at Kaiba Corp." he grumbled, turning abruptly without a goodbye to the others. 

"Bye Mokuba." Vari said to the little boy. 

"See ya!" Mokuba said, following his big brother.

"Seems like Kaiba's getting whiplash by his own company. " Joey laughed.

Vari rolled her eyes. "Give it a rest Joey." she said. 

Joey blinked with confusion. "I thought you hated Kaiba?" he eyed her skeptically. 

"I don't hate anyone." she protested. "Let's just go home." 

He grinned at her with suspicion. "Okay."

"Don't look at me that way Joey." Vari said. 

"Look at you what way?" he asked innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Vari just ignored him. "I'll see you guys tomorrow at the tournament." stepping up to the front of her doorstep. 

"See ya. Get some rest for tomorrow." said Yugi. 

"I will. Later." 

"I'm telling you guys. Vari still has it bad for Kaiba." noted Joey. 

Yugi didn't give it a second thought. _"Probably Kaiba is the same as well." _

"Reminds me of a similar situation a long time ago." Yami conversed in Yugi's mind. 

"Really? What happen then?"

Yami gave a sad expression "I can't remember."

******** 

A small knock came from the door. Vari got up to open it, to her surprise it was the last person she would expect to see. 

"Mokuba! What are you doing here?" she asked. Mokuba stood unexpectedly on the her front door step with a bike parked next to him. Then came to her realization. "How did you know I live here?"

"Typed your name on the school file records." he answered slyly. Mokuba could work a computer as well as his big brother can. After all he learned from the best.

"You're one sneaky little boy." Vari laughed. "Come in." Mokuba carefully walked in. It was a modest home but not as small, compare to the common household family. In fact the living room alone was twice as big when you stepped in. Hanging on the walls were decor of various art work. The table stand by the couch had a miniature statue and relics. It held an antiquity sense, cultured and posh. Vari saw Mokuba's bowled over look. "Yeah I know. I told people my house looks like a mini museum." she giggled. 

"It sure does." Mokuba agreed. 

"Does your brother know you're here?" she asked. 

Mokuba shook his head. "I didn't tell Seto that I would be coming here."

"So why are you here?" she asked curiously. 

Mokuba felt hesitant to say, but wasn't that the point of coming all the way over here? "Can I talk to you about Seto?" he asked slowly.

Vari became confused, then slightly concern. "Something wrong?" 

"Well..." he paused trying to find the right words. "I'm kinda worried about him. He's been so distant."

"What's wrong with him?" 

"Don't tell Seto I told you, but he's been having nightmares again and lately it's been getting worse." he sighed worriedly.

Vari looked at him with her sympathetic eyes. _"He loves his brother so much..." _she thought in the back of her mind. "Maybe he's just overworked. Sometimes it makes you have restless sleep." 

Mokuba doubt that was the source of the problem. His brother, never in his entire life been like the way he was the past couple weeks. "I don't know." he shrugged. "He doesn't listen to me, not so much anymore." An idea struck him. "Why don't _you_ talk to him?"

"Me? I don't know...Your brother and I are not really in speaking terms..."

"Please?" he pleaded. "I know he'll listen to you."

"What made you think that?" she asked incredulously.

"Because he likes you." he answered, stating the obvious.

Vari detained a wide-eye look. She laughed when he said that. "I think you have that in reverse Mokuba. Your brother barely tolerates me."

"No he doesn't." he argued. "The way he looks at you, I can tell he likes you." he grinned at her. "I know people think my brother is mean..." Vari snorted. "But deep down he's nice. I know. I've seen that side of him."

Vari wondered if there _was _a good side of Seto. _"Maybe it's possible..." _she thought. _"To shed his outer shell and reveal something deeper."_ She recalled the day when he tried to pull her over to talk to her. Without thinking she brushed him off. Allowed her anger to get in the way instead of considering the idea that maybe, just maybe he was about to apologize. The more she thought about it, the more guilty she felt. 

"So will you talk to him?" 

"I'll see what I can do." she smiled. 

Mokuba felt happy again. "Thank you!" he said, giving her a hug, which was totally unexpected. "I better go before my brother finds out where I am." he said. "Don't tell him that I came over here." he added. 

"I won't, I promise." Vari swore. She followed him to the door, biding farewell. 

Mokuba got on his bike and started home. _"It worked."_ he grinned to himself.

Author's Notes: 

Sorry about the slow post. I couldn't find the time to write and with last month of school...well...you know what I mean. 

It so hard to write a duel scene! What was I thinking writing 10 more duel scenes! @_@ 

And the scene with Bakura and Malik is a cheesy copycat of the show. I realized that as I wrote it. I admit its uncreative, maybe after I finish this story I'll make a rewrite. 

Last of all...I posted another story called "Last of the Ishtars" It's a seperate story and unlike YuGiOh The Wakening, Last of the Ishtars stays faithful to the series and manga. As for a short summary, it's basically about the Ishtar family in the POV of Ishizu or Isis if you like to call her that way, and all the events leading up to the Domino City Tournament and some fill in gaps of what the show didn't tell. I worked really hard on the first chapter and its very good! Now I have two stories to work on, that was smart of me. @_@ 

Read and Review! Thanks to all those who commented on my story, even when I felt like giving up I always look to your reviews to feel inspired again. ^_^


	14. Chapter 13 The Break In

Disclaimer: YuGiOh is own by the ingenious Kazuki Takahashi. I don't own it. Never have, never will... 

  
  


Chapter 13 - The Break In

  
  


Early morning came in Domino City. The street bustle with unusual excitement and anticipation. Everyone was back at Domino Town square waiting for the second day of the competition to begin.

"Man it feels less crowded, unlike yesterday." Joey noted looking around. The good thing was, less crowds meant less competition. 

"I guess they got eliminated. Only the ones that wins comes back." Tristen said.

"Yeah, but I didn't know that it was _that_ competitive. I mean there is defiantly less people from yesterday."

The loud speaker gave a sudden booming announcement. "Welcome, all competitors! Congratulations in making it through the preliminary match. All of you have proven yourselves worthy of entering the main competition. Our tournaments will be held inside the dueling arenas. Spectators and all! Step in our registered desks to be randomly matched to your next opponent. May the best duelist win."

Tea stared at everyone heading inside. "Now the competitors duel in the arenas?"

"I guess they couldn't hold that many competitors in the arenas yesterday." Yugi reasoned. 

"Makes sense." Tea agreed. 

"Are you just going to stand there all day? Come on!" Joey called. He was already a foot away from the building. 

"We should sedate Joey." Vari muttered in Tea's ear. "He's a little too excited." Tea laughed at her comment.

Their group stepped inside. There was a large circular desk on each side of the room. Each with 5 computers stationed. A large panel screen hung over each computer. Vari noticed the match up shown for the competitors who came. Tea tugged on her shirt, pointing at one of the stations where Joey and Yugi was already being matched up. 

"Are you here to be pair up with an opponent as well?" the lady asked. She gave a sweet greeting smile. Vari nodded. "Alright then. I'll need your ID number. Then the computer will randomly select your next opponent and the arena you will be dueling in."

"Vari Mayoto, ID 556." 

She vigorously typed so fast it was hard to keep up. When she finished she pointed at the panel screen above. "Your opponent will show on the monitor." Sure enough a picture of a man appeared on the screen. He looked around twenty years old. His face was unshaven and his short brownish hair was spiked up with massive amounts of hair gel. On the side the screen read the name "Pillar" Staring at the picture, Vari's face twisted with repugnance. "He looks like he just came out of a juvenile prison." she said in a low whisper to Tea. "Why do I get the creepy guys?"

"Don't worry Vari." Tea reassured her. "You can beat him."

"I hope so." said Vari. "Or I'll be sent packing home."

"Don't let anyone faze you out Vari." Joey coached.

Vari inhaled deep to let the flow of oxygen run through her body. "Well here goes. Good luck in your match you two." she said to Yugi and Joey.

"It'll be a piece of cake." Joey said. "Right Yugi?"

"Right!" Yugi smiled. "After the match we'll all meet up with each other later."

"Agreed. I'll see you guys later." Vari walked up to the elevator, waving at her friends a final good luck. Eagerly she waited for the elevator to take her up to the dueling arena. As she did, Vari noticed Kaiba at a distance, walking smoothly past her with two workers perhaps, next to him on either side. He didn't seem to notice anything around him. His face look set on one goal and nothing else. Vari hesitated in walking over to him. Going over to say 'hi' wasn't what she had in mind, but then she remembered her promise to Mokuba. Shrugging she hurried over before he walked out of sight. 

"Hey." she greeted, not being able to think of a better thing to say.

Seto turned around. "Hey" he said emotionlessly as if he didn't care. 

"Um... can I have a word with you?" she asked stepping in front of him so that he wouldn't get away. Seto's bodyguards gave her a slight glare, but she didn't notice. 

"What is it?" Seto muttered impatiently. 

Vari blinked. _"Now what?"_ she thought to herself. _"This was a stupid idea."_ Nothing came out of her mouth for a few seconds. 

Seto pushed her gently aside. "I don't have time for this. If you'll excuse me I have a duel to win." he walked away leaving Vari behind. 

"Well that went well." Vari grumbled. 

  


********

  


"I saw her before." One of Seto's bodyguards said.

Seto looked at him curiously. His eyes indicated for him to go on.

He continued. "And I thought I saw Master Mokuba just yesterday with her on her doorstep. But I didn't think anything of it, since you kinda know her I thought..."

"You thought?"

"I thought you knew Master Mokuba was there at her house or something." he finished dumbly. Obviously he regretted going into the matter because Seto's eyes widen with anger. 

"It seems your head is too big for your brain!" Seto snared at the dim witted fool. The bodyguard sweat drop. The other just walked, letting his co-worker get sacked. 

"I apologize Master Kaiba." he said uneasily. 

"Just shut up. I'll deal with this after my duel." Seto growled. 

"Yes Master Kaiba."

_"I can't believe it! My own brother!" _Seto thought. _"Mokuba, your slick but not that slick." _

  


********

  


Vari stepped in the arena, feeling especially grumpy. Maybe beating her opponent will give her some satisfaction. She stepped up to her platform as it rose up to the duel arena. The announcer introduced her to the audience. "Vari Mayoto has stepped up to the platform."

Vari waved at the audience. _"I didn't know there were this many people."_ she thought, suddenly feeling a little nervous. _"What did they do, hand out free tickets?"_ The platform rose up to her side of the arena and she got to look at her opponent's face for the first time. He didn't look at all appealing.

"Well, well... It looks as if they've thrown a hot chick my way." He looked at Vari with a sadistic smile played across his lips. 

Vari gave a look of pure disgust. "I think your peanut size of a brain has difficulty knowing the difference between a chicken and an actual person." 

He grinned widely. "Feisty too...I like it." he said while fixing his greasy gelled hair.

"Men are pigs." She murmured to herself.

"Competitors place your decks onto the panel reader." the announcer instructed.

The two did as they were instructed with Vari glaring at him and him smiling like some psychotic at her.

"How about we go out on a date if I win?" it seemed like an idea was growing on him with potential. "And if you win we still go out on a date." he laughed inwardly. 

Vari rolled her eyes at the pathetic man. "I wouldn't bet on it." She said coldly. 

"Competitors ready." the announcer called. "Let the duel begin."

"Ladies first." he cracked open a slick smile.

LP Vari: 2000 LP Pillar: 2000 

Vari drew her cards. Looking grimly at them, there were no monster cards in her hand. "I'll place two cards face down and end my turn." Vari smoothly sild the cards onto the magic/trap card field.

"That's all you got sweetie?" Pillar asked laughing out of his own amusement. Not many started a duel like that. "I'll put one card face down and bring out my monster Big Eye in attack mode." He grinned widely. "I attack your life points directly." His monster ran straight towards Vari so quick she didn't see it coming. Then with a giant leap it slashed at her with one swipe of it's hand. Even though it was holographic, the wind blew hard at her face. But she didn't flinch. Her face was calm. The one eye monster ran back to her opponent's side of the field. Her life points dropped down to 800. She had just lost 1200 life points in a single attack. 

LP Vari: 800 LP Pillar: 2000

"I expected a better duel." Pillar said. "C'mon babe show me what you got."

Vari drew another card. This time it was a monster card. A quick strategy formed in her mind. "This duel s going to be over in one turn." she smiled. "I place this monster card Sonic Maid in attack mode with an attack power of 1200 on the field."

Pillar looked at her as if she played a dumb move. "You can't take my life points, we have the same attack power."

Vari was unfazed by his naive thinking. _"He really is dim."_ she thought. "I never said I was finished." She flipped one of her face down cards. "I activate the magic card Change of Heart. It will take control of your monster for one turn. I told you I'm going to defeat you in one turn."

Pillar suddenly looked nervous a little. 

"Big Eye, attack his life points directly!" His monster slashed his own owner with a sharp move. Pillar's eyes flashed. "I attack again with Sonic Maid!" Her monster swiftly shot a bright light of arrows with precise precision.

His life points dropped down to a striking 0. Everyone in the arena gasped. 

LP Vari: 800 LP Pillar: 0

"And Vari Mayoto wins the match! Unbelievable folks! That must be a record breaking duel along side with Seto Kaiba's 5 minute record!" 

The crowds cheered as Vari smirked slightly at Pillar. Surprisingly Pillar didn't seem all that upset.

"That was a good duel." he said as they both got off the platform. He stretched out his hand for a handshake. For a moment Vari thought he wouldn't be all bad. 

"Thank you." she said and shook his hand. 

"Now about our date..." he grin. Guess she was wrong.

Vari looked at him square in the eye. "I never agreed to that."

He tugged at her hand until she stumbled onto him. "C'mon you know you want to." he breathed, squeezing her in a tight hug. His mouth were breathing down her neck. Frantically Vari tried to push him away, but he held her in a tight lock. 

"Let go of me!" she yelled, again trying to push him away, but he wouldn't let go. "I swear I'll break your arm!" His grip was too strong. She could barely pry herself free from him. 

"I love a women whose plain hard to catch." he said.

"Your going to regret this!" she screamed. 

"Like I said I like the feisty ones." 

"Let go of her." a voice said from behind. It was deep and rough, a voice Vari recognized. 

_"Seto?"_

"I said let go of her." he repeated this time even more menacingly.

"Mind your own business." Pillar growled. 

Seto grabbed him so quick, Pillar didn't see it coming. He slammed him against the wall, while Vari finally got free from his grip. "Look, if you don't leave her alone. I'll blow your brains out. Got it?" Seto snared. He grabbed him again and threw him onto the floor. Pillar skidded a few feet. 

Pillar stood up regaining his balance. "Forget this." he ran off, leaving Vari and Seto alone. 

" I could have handled it myself." Vari protested. 

"Sure you could have." Seto mumbled irritably. "But I thought I'd save you some time and mine."

Vari looked uncomfortably away. "Thanks." she muttered with gratitude, trying not to look directly at his face. She felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment because she was saved by Kaiba. "What are you doing here anyway?" she asked. "Your duel isn't even in this arena."

"Let's just cut to the chase shall we? I know what your trying to do. My fallacious little brother has leaded you to believe that I have a bit of problems. Let me assure you that is not the case."

Vari blinked "Oh really? It seems like the case to him. An no offense but I trust him more then I trust you for that matter. I don't know how he could have made that up."

"You know what your problem is? You don't know when to butt out." he snapped. 

Vari's face grew red with anger. She her hands curled up into a fist in a tight manner. "Well don't expect me to butt in anymore." Vari shot back. "Your lack of compassion will be your downfall. Good luck to you in the tournament." she added coldly through gritted teeth and departed away without another word. 

Seto groaned in a fit of aggravation. He never seemed to win.

  


********

  


Night swept over Domino City. A mysterious figure walked stealthily through the Domino Museum. He was careful not to trip any alarms and hid away from any security cameras with his black cloak blending into the darkened halls. His stealth proved him capable of being the best of all masterful cat burglars, but his skills were only useful for his master. 

He reached the secured laboratory. Just by his rotten luck, two security guards were patrolling the grounds. 

"Man I'm tired." he overheard the security guard shuffle with a yawn. "Just what are we suppose to guard anyway?"

"Some Egypt artifact. Professor Mayoto said it was mighty important and he was dead serious about it." the second security guard answered with a shrug. "He left specific instructions that no one is to enter without verification from him." 

"You don't say?" the first security guard said scratching his head. "Well I'll be glad my shifts over. It's too boring." He heard a tap on the floor. "What was that?" his ears perked up like a sharp canine and swung his flashlight over towards the sound. 

"What was what?" the second security guard asked.

"I swore I heard something."

The second security guard frowned. "Buddy are you hearing things?"

"But..." 

"It's probably just your imagination."

"Maybe..." the second security guard said, but he didn't seem too convinced. Suddenly he saw a dark piece of cloth rush right past him. Then it disappeared. "What was that!" he cried out. Now he was sure he wasn't imagining things. "I defiantly saw something right there!" he pointed over towards the little corner from the doorway. "I think someone's in here."

"You sure?" 

"Of course I'm sure! Why the hell would I lie?"

Clunk!

The two guards dropped down on the floor unconscious.

The masked figure appeared behind them, smirking lightly. "You should've listen to your friend." 

Standing by the door, he checked to make sure no other guards came patrolling, then opened the door to step inside. It was dark. He switched the lights on and found 3 different boxed vaults, where they kept artifacts not shown in the museum locked and secure. He stood against the vault in front of him and took out the magnetic encrypt and locked it against the metal shell. Quickly connecting the cables on his small laptop to the magnetic encrypt, he started the program. "Now it's only a matter of minutes before the password is unlocked."

  


********

  


Ishizu Ishtar stared at the unfinished documents groggy and tired. She had volunteered to stay behind in the lab and finish the necessary paper work. Shiro had gone home early after protesting to stay and help. But she insisted that his wife should not be so suspicious and worried about him always coming home late. There was no need to arouse questions. He agreed and left hours ago. Now that Ishizu thought about it she looked at the clock on the wall. Surprisingly it was close to one. She decided to pack up for the night. Even she needed a good night's sleep. 

  


Stepping out to the museum hall she made her way towards the entrance. _"Let me check on the security post." _she thought as one last final task, before turning in. She walked through the galleries and exhibits, noticing a flashlight shining just around the corner near the door to the vault. 

She strolled over, expecting to see security guards. "I just wanted to check on the..." she gave a shocking gasp. Ishizu clasped her hands over her mouth, trying hard not to scream. Seeing two bodies on the floor. The flashlight was dropped on the ground still turned on. She knelt down and felt each of the guard's pulse. She gave a sigh of relief. Thankfully they were still alive, just knocked out.

If the guards were out cold, that meant an intruder was inside. "They're after the chest!" She quickly got up and fumbled with the door.

  


********

  


There was one last digit left to be decoded. Then the door will be unlocked. He waited impatiently as the screen searched for the last digit. He heard a rustling sound behind him. Turning around he noticed the doorknob being forcefully opened. A look of panic formed under his masked face. The door flew open. It was that witch Ishizu Ishtar. 

"Get away from it!" Ishizu cried out. 

The masked figure dropped his laptop down and quickly lunged at her, throwing her against the wall. The impact was so sudden. Her whole right side hit against the side vault. She dropped on the floor with a hard thud. Panting, she clutch her right side painfully before she got up and placed her hands over her necklace. It started to glow with enormous energy. A flash of light shone, blinding the whole room. For a while it seem like a huge globe of light beaming off a thousand suns.

"I will not let you steal this chest. It is my duty to protect it!" Ishizu proclaimed. 

The light slowly disappeared, but the mysterious masked figure was gone. Behind her the screen flashed with the four digit code. The vault unlocked automatically. Inside the chest stood in the center, polished and undisturbed. 

She sighed heavily, almost grieving. "Brother you will not win."

  
  
  
  


A/N: SORRY! For the lack of updates. I know it's been a while. I bet probably everyone has forgotten about me, but I'm back. I was seriously thinking of abandoning this story. BUT I decided to keep on going. Because I really hate seeing stories unfinished and I don't want to be one of those authors that does. Besides, there's a lot more to the story that I want to write. So if you think this story is going to be finish pretty soon...think again! I don't know if that's a good thing for you guys or a really annoying nuisance. 

  


Anyway...you know what to do...Read and Review. Tell me what you think. I really do read everyone's comments and I appreciate them all. And if you want me to review your story then leave a review and I can check out your story in your author profile as well. 

Last. I update where I'm at in my stories from time to time so if you want to know then check out my author's profile. 

Thanks again 


	15. Chapter 14 One Line of Destiny

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or anything related to Yugioh. All OC characters are mine.

  
  


Chapter 14 - One Line Of Destiny

  
  


Shiro was running as fast as he could to the Domino Museum. He felt his legs would give away and collapse right in front of the steps, but he didn't think about that. All he thought about was the phone call he got from Ishizu at 5:00 AM, telling him there was a break in at the museum. 

"I'm here!" Shiro gasped out of breath. "What happen?"

Ishizu slowly walked over towards him. Shiro didn't understand how she could be so calm about this. Maybe some people just have amazing control of their facial features. Ishizu certainly didn't have a hard time. 

"I tired to cover up any media attention about the break in. The guards have agreed to sign a confidentiality about what happened."

"And do you know the person who tried to steal the chest?" Shiro asked waving off the minor details Ishizu was giving him. 

"Yes" she said quietly. She paused for a moment as if she couldn't find the words to say it.

"Well?" Shiro asked impatiently. "Who is it?"

"It was one of my brother's henchmen." she said flatly. 

"Wait a minute." Shiro looked at her confused. "Your brother?" 

"Yes." she said with no emotional expression. "Malik Ishtar."

For some reason Shiro didn't seem that shocked about what he'd just heard. He nodded for her to go on.

"He came here from Egypt. I followed him to Domino City and took a place in the museum so that I would watch and wait what he would plan to do as well as discover what this chest is. Now that we've discovered what the chest is. The only thing left to do is to keep it away from my brother until the time comes."

"This has been going on for a while hasn't it. Finding this chest and how it's linked to the millennium items."

"I'm sorry to say that this is not going to end just yet." Ishizu said sadly. "I believe he might have place one of his men here, working at the museum. Or else they wouldn't have known where the chest was kept so well. It could be anyone here." Ishizu said. 

Shiro looked coldly away. "I think I know who." he gritted his teeth. "Hajime."

Ishizu said nothing.

"Why else would he leave Cairo and come here? Why else would he secretly interrogate my wife about my research? It all makes sense now." Shiro said angrily.

"Maybe so." Ishizu said calmly. "But we can't point fingers just yet."

"I know it's him." he growled. 

"We have to be careful." Ishizu warned. "Now that we know for certain there is an insider in the museum, we'll have to move the chest somewhere my brother can't find it."

"Yes. But where?" Shiro asked. 

"Leave that to me. I'll go away and hid it. I won't tell you where, in case anyone should talk to you." 

"I'm just a simple archaeologist." Shiro said rubbing his temples. "I've gotten myself into more trouble then I thought possible." 

"We can't avoid this Shiro. You know what the scriptures say."

He sighed heavily. "As time grows old the past life will be reborn into the next." he quoted. "But how will we know?"

"When the time comes, we'll know."

"I'm scared for my family."

"I know. This is a dangerous time for you. I have to go. I can't stay here any longer, not after what happened. They're going to be after me." Ishizu started walking with a large suitcase in hand. "Tell anyone who asks that I'm away on a sudden expedition. Be careful Shiro."

"Wait!" Shiro called out. He dug into his jacket pocket and took out his small journal. "Here take this." He handed it to her. "I've written everything I've ever research in this book including everything about the chest. If anything were to happen to me, would you give it to my daughter?"

"I will."

  


********

  


"This is it guys. After this match we'll be in the finals."

"Only if we win the duel Joey." Vari said. 

"I already know I'm going to win." Joey grinned. "Don't lose confidence in yourself." 

"I am confident. It's just that, nothing is a sure thing." argued Vari. 

"Hey Yugi, you think Vari is being negative?" Joey asked.

Yugi turned around. With his small innocent face. "I guess maybe a little." he blushed. 

"I am not!" Vari huffed, crossing her arms. 

"But you shouldn't underestimate your opponent either Joey." Yugi said.

"Ha!" Vari looked at Joey with a smirk. 

"Alright! Can we just go to out duels now? They've already selected our opponents. We don't want to be late for our match." The line was shorter, since many duelist have been eliminated from the last match. Now only around 12 remain. 

"Come on Vari." Tea said. "I'll be watching you in the crowd. You'll hear me cheer the loudest." 

"Thanks Tea." Vari smiled. She looked round to Yugi. Somehow he didn't act like he usually act. She swore his enthusiasm had gone down fifty percent. "Yugi, you ok?" she asked.

Yugi looked up at her with a forceful smile. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh I don't know...you seem a little down."

"It's nothing. We should be going." Yugi started ahead and walked off.

"What's wrong with Yugi?" Joey asked.

"I don't know." Vari said, watching Yugi walk away.

  


********

  


_Yugi gave a deep sigh. He felt grounded by the heavy weight on his shoulders. He didn't want to tell Joey and the others about it. It would just worry them with a concern they shouldn't have to think about._

_"Are you alright Yugi?" Yami asked._

_"Not you too." said Yugi _

_"Well it is a little noticeable." Yami gave a small joking laugh._

_Yugi paused not saying anything for a couple of minutes. _

_"Yugi?" Yami suddenly looked a little concern for a second._

_"I feel that something terrible is going to happen. Our mission to find your identity and save the world is going to bring the worst kind of evil imaginable. There's something about the past that is going to affect us all." Yugi turned away. Maybe Yugi shouldn't have told Yami. He was giving the exact look that Yugi didn't want. _

_"There is no telling what might happen Yugi.. I won't deny that it won't be dangerous. But only the future can decide what's in store." Yami said. _

_"Let's get going. I think we're late for the duel." said Yugi abruptly. He didn't want to think about it anymore._

  


********

  


The darkened warehouse was shut off from any form of sunlight from the outside. The doors were closed and the windows were shut so that no one can hear any screams. 

"I should kill you right now." Mailk said maliciously. He stared down on his servant, who was bowing low on the ground, making him tremble before his feet. "You failed to steal the chest and you let my sister get the best of you. Because of that she knows we are close you fool!" 

"Forgive me master. But her millennium item was too strong, she..."

"She frightened you like a scared little puppy. You are pathetic." he snared. 

The servant glimpsed up at Malik with pure hatred. For a second his mind seem blink. Then thoughts flooded through him like water filling into a cup. For a brief moment he seemed like himself again. "I don't want to do this anymore." he said quietly. 

Mailk felt his grip slid, as if his hand was letting go. "What?" he growled. Then the servant looked up at him, with a defiant stare. 

"You can't control me any longer. Your hold on me is slipping. Admit it. I've been fighting you all this time and you are losing your edge."

"Think again." he held up his millennium rod. It glowed with power, blinding him and pulling his mind away from him again. "I still control you. I will control you. There's nothing you can do to stop it." 

His head burned with sear agony. Clutching his head with both his hands he screamed. "NO!" The whole warehouse echoed with his shrieks. 

"Now go." Malik commanded.

The servant obeyed and walking out. His eyes were diluted and unfocused. His mind had been taken over once again, unable to think or move freely by his will. 

Another servant appeared beside Malik. "He may be right." he did not look directly at Malik. "He is fighting the millennium rod. He might be able to break free from your control completely with each passing day." 

"Are you questioning my powers Rishid?" Malik hissed at him. 

"No of course not. But we do not want to underestimate him." Rishid said carefully. 

"We won't have to worry about that. When he plays out his part. You will kill him." Malik said. 

Rishid gave a solemn look. "Yes master." 

"The only thing to worry about is the tournament finals. We will encounter Yugi Moto in the final match. Then..."

Rishid stared at Malik's paused silence. "Then what?"

Malik's eyes grew wide and vicious. "Then all hell breaks loose." 

  
  
  


Author's Notes: The story is getting to the point where major plots are coming together. It's going to be more dramatic and more tragic. Where is Ishizu hiding? Will Seto and Vari ever stop going at each other's throats? Is the mysterious servant Hajime? What does Malik have in store next? And a surprising revelation about Bakura. Please stay tune to find out what happens next... 

  


Read and Review and tell me what you think! 

  
  
  
  
  



	16. Chapter 15 Fatal Wounds

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh. If I did I'd be rich right now...

  
  


Chapter 15 - Fatal Wounds

  
  


Shiro came home later that day wearily after the situation had been dealt with. He sighed heavily with a tired look in his eyes and plop down onto the couch in the living room. 

"Shiro?" Maaya came into the living room, hearing him come into the house. "Oh your back. How was the meeting?" 

Shiro suddenly remember that he had told his wife there was a meeting with the director at the museum. He couldn't tell her the truth. He knew she would bombard him with questions that he didn't have time to answer. Should he tell her now? He look straight at her, trying to decide. _"No."_ he thought, it would just worry her. Instead he said. "It was really stupid. He was droning on and on about the new section in the Egypt exhibit. He wanted to know if I was done so he could decide when it should be opened to the public." which was partially true, only he talked with the director a couple days before. 

"Well, are you done?" Maaya asked. 

"Yes. Just finished. And I won't be working on anything else anytime soon."

Hearing this, Maaya's eye's light up. "Really? No more late nights at work?" 

"Nope."

"I'm so glad." she said. "Not that I don't want you to do what you love." she said quickly. "It's just that sometimes you go a little overboard."

"I won't be doing that anymore. I promise." he gave her a kiss for reassurance. 

Maaya smiled. "Maybe you can spend time with Vari. Now that you are free. She got back from her duel tournament." 

Shiro slapped his forehead with his hand. He completely forgot about Vari's tournament and haven't asked her how she was doing since her first duel. He suddenly felt a little guilty. "How was Vari's duel?" he asked. 

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Maaya smiled widely. "She's out back practicing." 

_"Practicing."_ Shiro thought. It wasn't wise to barge in when Vari was practicing. She almost knocked him out when he walked in one day with her in a fighting stance. Without warning she did a high kick and nearly struck him in the face. Luckily she missed by an inch. 

Shiro trudge cautiously out into the backyard. Sure enough Vari stood in a fighting stance, with a sword in her hand. 

"Is that my fifteenth century sword your holding in your hands?" Shiro asked wide eyed. 

Vari turned around and quickly put the sword behind her back like a little child, with a guilty look on her face. "Uh..." It was stupid to hide it. She knew her father saw it already. "I was just borrowing it for practice." she said innocently. "I promise I won't break it."

"Just be careful with it." Shiro said uneasily. "In fact, don't swing it around too hard." as if he wasn't quite sure she really wouldn't break it. 

"Okay dad you've made your point. I'll put it back." Vari said. She could tell her father gave a sigh of relief. 

"How was your duel? he asked. "By the look on your mother's face, I take it went well?"

"I'm in the finals!" she exclaimed happily. 

"I'm very proud of you." Shiro smiled. "Hey!" an idea popped into his head. "How about we celebrate? You and me going to the ice cream parlor like _normal_ people."

Vari considered the idea. "I'd like that. I don't think I've ever done that with you before. But don't you have work." Vari asked bracing for disappointed. 

"Not anymore." said Shiro. "I've finished my research and the exhibit is going to open, so I won't need to work right now." 

"That's great!" Vari said. "Can we go later today?" 

"Sure we can." Shiro replied. He looked at his daughter with sad eyes. Thinking deeply from before. 

"Dad? Are you okay?" Vari asked all of a sudden. It caught Shiro off guard. 

"I'm fine."

"But you had a strange look just before." Vari said, closely examining him, reading his facial expression. 

"I'll tell you later." Shiro replied. 

  


********

  


Seto called Mokuba into the private study room. He was sitting at his desk reading company documents with a cup of coffee next to him. He had been reduce to drinking caffeine to keep himself awake during the day. The sad thing was, he needed it more and more. 

"You wanted to see me big brother?" Mokuba asked walking in.

"Yes. I want to know why you went to Vari's house without telling me." he look down at Mokuba with a stern eye. 

Mokuba gulped and stared at Seto in silence. Did Vari tell him?

"Vari didn't tell me." Seto said looking at Mokuba's wonderment on how he knew. "I found out because the bodyguard that lives around that area saw you with her."

Mokuba tried to explain. "I wanted to help you Seto."

"By sending the person I hate?" Seto asked, looking away with anger in his eyes.

"That's not true Seto. You don't hate her." Mokuba argued.

"And how could you possibly know that?" Seto asked.

"Because you love her." Mokuba replied. 

Seto's body stiffen with Mokuba's startling words. "That's insane." he said bitterly.

"I just want you to be happy Seto. And I think that Vari could be the perfect match for you. After all, you two argue like a married couple." Mokuba smiled. 

Seto didn't say anything. 

  


********

  


"Are you ready to go Vari?" Shiro asked. 

"Yep." Vari replied. "Let's go." Just as they walked out the door the phone rang from inside the room. 

"Shiro!" Maaya called and rushed over to him. "It's for you." she handed him the phone. "It's the museum." 

In an instance Vari's face fell with disappointment. 

Shiro sighed and grabbed the phone. "Hello?...Yes...Do you need me right now?....Fine....Okay....Bye." As he put the phone down, he noticed Vari's disappointed face. "They need me for a little while." he said.

"Oh..." Vari mumbled.

"But only for about an hour." he reassured her. "Then after that we can go to the ice cream parlor. It's only a block away. You can meet me at the museum and then we'll go together. Alright?" 

"Alright." Vari agreed. 

Shiro smiled and kissed her forehead. "It'll only take an hour. I promise." He stepped out of the door. 

Vari went over to the living room to kill some time. Her mother walked up to her and sat on the couch beside her. 

"You know your father loves you right?" she asked.

"I know." Vari replied. 

"And you know that your father loves his work?" 

"Yeah." 

"But he'll never love his work more then he loves you. Remember that."

  


********

  


One long hour passed as Shiro walked out of the museum. He should have said he was busy and told the director off. The man was starting to be irritating to him. One hour of nothing but mindless babble about the exhibit. It was a waste of time. He stood outside the museum to wait for Vari. He wasn't going to screw up this time. After this is all over he was going to set things right. _"I wonder if Ishizu is safe?"_ he thought. _"It won't be long now..." _

Just as he looked over three men wearing dark purple cloaks with an eye emblem on the front surrounded him. 

"What the..."

They grabbed him forcefully, covering him mouth so that no sound could come out. Two of the men held both his arms, dragging him to a near by alley way. Shiro struggled but he couldn't win against two. They threw him down on the ground as another cloaked man stepped up to him. Shiro stood up, baffled and afraid at the same time. The man that stepped up seemed to be the leader of the group. His face was concealed underneath the dark hood.

"Who are you?" Shiro exclaimed. There was no escape. All four men surround him with the leader in front of him. 

The leader gave a small sinister laugh. "You know exactly who I am." he sneered, even though Shiro could not see it. "You've been running away from me ever since Egypt. But how long can you run? I'm afraid your fears have finally caught up with you." he lifted up his hood, revealing his white hair and vicious glowing eyes. 

"Malik Ishtar." Shiro realized. 

"I see you've been talking to my sister. You've seen my face haven't you? In the dark sands of the Pyramids of Giza. I've watched and waited for you. You flew here where you thought that you could be safe. Wasn't that why you came here in the first place?"

"You were the one who threaten me." Shiro hissed. 

"You should have listen." Malik narrowed his eyes at him. "I'm tired of playing games. You will tell me where the chest is."

"I don't know where it is and even if I did, I would rather die then tell you anything." Shiro growled.

"You're lying. You can make this hard or easy." 

"I don't know anything!" Shiro exclaimed. 

"You've pick the hard way." Malik said. He indicated for one of his men to step forward. "Bakura, you know what to do." 

Bakura stepped up to him with a sadistic smile. Shiro shook with fear, knowing that they would torture him somehow. The same two men held him down again as he kept on struggling. Bakura took out the millennium eye and held it up against Shiro's forehead. It started to glow. Shiro noticed an eye carved into the ball. The same eye that was on the chest. 

Shiro suddenly felt an itch on him like some bug crawling on his skin. Then he felt it creep into his mind, if it was even possible. His mind opened like a book waiting for someone to read. He then realized they were somehow reading his thoughts telepathically, extracting information from him. 

Bakura lower the eye. "He doesn't know where it is." he said finally.

"What?" Malik asked looking suspiciously at Bakura. "It can't be."

"The eye never lies. But I've found out that your sister has fled with the box. Her whereabouts are unknown." 

Shiro saw the rage in Malik's eyes. "Damn her!" Shiro couldn't help but laugh at Malik's frustration. 

Malik gave Shiro a menacing glare. His blood boiled as he looked at him with utmost contempt. He pointed at one of the men holding him. "You will kill him."

Shiro's eyes widen with horror once he heard those words. He noticed Malik grip tighten on a rod he was holding. The cloaked man pulled out a gun and pointed it straight at Shiro. He seemed hesitant for a second, his fingers shaking on the trigger. 

Malik's grip on his rod tighten even more. "Do it." he commanded. "Let's go." he ordered the others. Malik was gone. It was just Shiro and the hooded man. 

"Look. You don't have to do this." Shiro said pleadingly. 

"I'm sorry it had to be this way." The man lifted his head up revealing his face underneath the hood.

"You!" But before he could finish two gunshots were heard.

  


********

  


"NO!" she screamed. Her feet ran towards her father who was lying on the ground. She saw the purple cloaked man quickly run off deeper into the alley. 

"Oh my god, dad!" she cried out. She saw the massive amount of blood on his chest. It soaked through his shirt, bleeding profusely. She quickly placed her hand over his wound trying to stop the bleeding. 

"Vari?" Shiro wheezed, his eyes went in and out of focused as his looked up at a blur image over him. He felt like passing out. 

"Dad stay with me!" Vari kept her hand on the wounds. She was afraid if she let go he would lose too much blood. 

"Vari I'm sorry." he gasped. "I should have told you sooner."

"Don't talk dad. Save your strength." she cried. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. She couldn't think of what to do. She felt afraid.

"No, listen to me." he felt his lungs were about to collapse. "I realize now..." he took another hard breath. "That it's your destiny. The chest..." he paused, he felt the bullet dig deeper into his body. "Ishizu...will...come...to...you..." he struggled to continue. His eyes rolled over. 

"Dad!" Vari screamed. 

"Please...forgive...me...Vari..." his strength was fading. "I...love...you."

"Dad! I forgive you! Just don't leave me!" she cried. But he didn't reply. He stopped breathing. Shiro was gone. 

  
  


Author's Notes: The tragic end to Shiro that I've been anticipating to write. Kinda saddens me that I have to kill off one of my original characters. But I've been planning this scene from the very beginning, which will branch out into other plots that I have evilly planned. Let's just say Vari isn't going to be a very happy camper. The next couple of chapters are going to answer all the questions that we're all so confused about. Is Hajime the guy that Shiro saw? Take a lucky guess and stay tune for the next chapter to find out what happens.

  


Thanks to the people who reviewed my story! Keep on reviewing. I want to know what you think of my story. I need lots and lots of reviews! Help me hit 100 reviews before I get up to Chapter 20. 

  
  
  



	17. Chapter 16 Saying Goodbye

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. *bitter stare*

  
  


Chapter 16 - Saying Goodbye

  
  


Vari sat in her bedroom, watching the sun go down as the day ended and night began to crossed over. She touched the window with her finger tips, feeling the smooth hard glass. A tear rolled down her cheek with sorrow.

  


********

  


_"Can you tell me what exactly happen Miss. Mayoto?" the officer asked. _

_Vari said nothing. She stood petrified. _

_"Do you know what the attacker looked like? Could you describe him for me, if you can?" _

_Still, Vari said nothing. She just watched as they lifted the stretcher into the ambulance. _

_"Come on. Leave the poor girl alone. She just lost her father." said another, dragging the officer away._

_Vari barely heard the officer's interrogations or when the other dragged him away from her. She watched the ambulance drive off and stared at the people from the streets trying to get a closer look on what was happening as police officers said to move along. It felt like the world was revolving faster and faster around her and she couldn't stop it. She looked down at her hands. They were red. Stained with blood. _

_Before she knew it, she screamed. _

  


********

  


Her mother came and brought her home. She cried all the way, sniffing and wiping her tears with one tissue after another, while Vari said nothing. She became mute and ran into her bedroom, locking herself in. 

She had been in there for a while. From time to time her mother would knock on her door and asked if she was "Okay" or "If she would come out from her bedroom." After a while her mother gave up.

Thoughts flashed across her mind. She saw images of her father dying as she watched helplessly, crying with tears in her eyes. It played back over and over like a broken tape recorder. She buried her face into her arms, rocking back and forth, wishing it would go away. It wasn't a reality that she wanted to face. She denied it, as if miraculously her father would barge into her bedroom any second and say that it had been a cruel joke. But her door didn't open and no one came in. She touched the glass window again and tilted her head slowly. 

It was then that she felt utterly alone.

  


********

  


Mokuba sat down on the couch, flipping channels with the remote and feeling completely bored out of his mind. Seto was across from him working with his laptop as usual. 

_"News today as renown archeologist Shiro Mayoto was found murderer near Downtown Domino..."_

Mokuba's eyes widen as he stopped pressing the channel button. He turned the volume up louder. 

_"Head archeologist Shiro Mayoto was at the Domino Museum, recently working on the new Egypt exhibit, reported fellow co-worker Hajime Yamada."_

"That's Vari's dad Seto!" Mokuba exclaimed.

_"Police have reported that he was shot twice in the chest in a nearby alleyway from the Domino Museum where his daughter found him lying on the ground. He died instantly. Whether or not it was a mugger or an actual intended murder is hard to say..."_

Mokuba looked sadly towards his brother. "Poor Vari..."

Seto, who had been watching intently did not say anything for a long moment. Then he got up and head towards the door. 

"Seto? Where are you going?" Mokuba called out to him. But his brother left without a word.

  


******** __

  


At the same moment Yugi and Grandpa where watching the same news. 

_"Police are still investigating, no prime suspect has been found as of this moment. There have been no comments from the family. In other news..."_

Yugi felt a shock run through his system. "I can't believe it grandpa." he said with disbelief. 

"I know Yugi. This has been a horrible tragedy." he felt weak in the knees. "He was a great friend, that man." Grandpa sighed, a tear rolled down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away. "I must go call Maaya." he went inside while Yugi stood alone in the room. His millennium puzzle started to glow. He decided he needed to talk to Yami.

_"It's happening." said Yugi. "It's just what I feared before. I don't think Mr. Mayoto was murder by just anyone."_

_"I don't think so either. Whoever did this crime was looking for something that he had. The news had said he was working on the Egypt exhibit. Perhaps it's a connection." Yami suggested._

_Yugi look at Yami with puzzelment. "But who and what?"_

  


********

  


The clouds looked gray as everyone gathered together to say goodbye. Even Grandpa, Yugi, Joey, Tristen, and Tea were present, walking along the rows of tombstones until they reached a brown casket sitting in the middle of the grassy cemetery. Everyone stood quietly in mourning. 

"These places give me the creeps." Joey whispered looking around. "Look! That guy there. I heard he died while doing it with his girlfriend."

"Shut up Joey." Tea whispered back in a stern voice. "You're being rude."

"Fine I'll zip my lips." he mimicked locking his lips and throwing away the key.

"You're such an idiot." Tea rolled her eyes at him.

Joey pretended he couldn't open his mouth, but he gave an obvious glare at Tea.

"How's Vari doing?" Tristen asked. "I didn't really want to say anything to her. I was afraid I would upset her or something."

"She's been very quiet." Yugi answered. "Or at least that's what her mom said to my Grandpa." 

"Man it must be tough" said Tristen. "To lose someone." 

Yugi spotted Vari walking towards them."Here she comes you guys. Don't say anything stupid." They all looked at Joey. 

"What?" Joey asked. "I ain't going to say anything!"

Vari walked up to them. An unusual set of anguish was crafted on her face. She wasn't the smiling Vari they knew before. 

Tea gave her a comforting hug. "Are you alright?" 

Vari nodded slowly and the burial began. 

"Family and Friends. We are all gathered here today to say goodbye..."

Vari was only half listening. She was silently grateful that her friends were all there, but it didn't feel as complete as she had hoped. She didn't say much to anyone, except listen to meaningless dribble from distant people her father knew."I'm sorry for your lost." they would say. Vari heard it a thousand times over. It was rather sickening, each time a person said that to her. At times she wanted to scream. "How about you revive my dead father? That would be a big help."

They lowered the coffin into the earth. She heard her mother's weeping. It was so bad that Grandpa had to try and calm her down. They began to shovel the dirt onto the hole, closing the gap. It was the last time her father's spirit would wonder the earth before he passed onto the next life. 

Everyone walked up and drop bouquets of flowers. It piled up as more people placed it next to the grave. 

It was Vari's turn. She slowly walked up and drop a red rose, but she didn't move away. 

Nyri walked over to Vari. His cheerful expression was gone, just like Vari. "Your dad was the greatest friend I ever had. If I could change what happen I would." 

Vari nodded. "Thanks" was all she could muster out. 

Everyone started to leave. 

"Come on, we should go. It's going to rain soon."

"I think I'm going to stay here a little while longer." she said. "Can you tell my mom that I'll go home later?"

Nyri didn't argue with her. "Sure kiddo." 

After everyone was gone the cemetery became quiet. She stared at the tombstone for a long time as if studying the words engraved. It read:

Shiro Mayoto

1960 - 2003

Beloved Husband, Father, and Friend

The wind blew her hair back. Suddenly she heard the screeching tires of a car stop. She turned around, seeing a black limo across from her on the road from the grass grounds. To Vari's surprise Seto Kaiba stepped out of the car wearing a black trench coat with a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

  


********

  


Seto didn't know why he was here. A little voice inside his head told him to come. He saw her alone, standing next to a freshly buried grave with her strands of hair floating against the gentle breeze. He walked up to her, with no expression on his face. They stood silent for a moment.

"I really don't feel like arguing with you right now Seto." Vari said, almost half jokingly. 

"I didn't come here to argue." Seto replied. He stepped up to the grave and placed the flowers next to the other pile. 

Vari was taken by surprised. "Thank You." she said quietly. "And I'm sorry for what I said to you before. I didn't mean it." 

"I think I should be the one saying that." said Seto "I know that Mokuba went to you because of me." he added.

She looked up at him. "Oh..." she murmured. "Well I couldn't really say no to him." she answered. 

"I know." 

They both looked at the tombstone, side by side. Then without warning tears flowed down her cheeks. She unconsciously leaned her head and cried on Seto's shoulder. All the pain that she had been holding back, just began to pour out.

"I couldn't save him." she cried. "I didn't know what to do. I was so useless!" her eyes hurt. "It's my fault he died!"

Seto felt surprised by her sudden outburst. He patted her on the back, unsure of what to do.

"He's gone Seto... He's gone and he's never coming back..."

  


********

  


(*Flashback*)

  


_A boy with dark brown hair looked at the two graves next to each other. Next to him, his little brother cried silently, clutching his arm. _

_The boy was young, no more then 10 years old, watching others pass, shaking his hand and telling him how sorry they were for such a lost. It didn't really matter how they would put it, his mother and father were dead, and that was final. _

_"I want dad back Seto." his little brother cried._

_"He's not coming back Mokuba." Seto said. _

_"Why not?" Mokuba asked. _

_Seto sigh. His little brother didn't have a firm understanding of the concept of life and death. _

_"Because he went away and he can't come back."_

_"Why can't he just come back?" _

_"Because he's dead." Seto said finally. _

_Mokuba began to cry again. Seto felt guilty that he made his brother cry. _

_It was a rainy night when his father got into a car crash. They didn't tell him any details, just that his father was dead and they were going to be put in an orphanage because there was no one to care for them. Seto felt like a charity case. The poor boy who lost his parents with no one else to turn to. Now his father was with his mother, who had died giving birth to Mokuba. He was too young to remember much of it. _

_"What do we do now Seto?" Mokuba asked. _

_"They're going to put us in an orphanage. We'll going to have to stay in a new place."_

_Mokuba kept on crying._

_"Stop crying Mokuba." Seto said. The fact of the matter was, his crying was getting irritating. It was bad enough that he had to see other people cry. _

_"But I want dad back!" Mokuba wailed loudly. _

_"We can't get him back." Seto replied. _

_"I don't care!" Mokuba cried out stubbornly. _

_Seto suddenly hated his father for doing this to Mokuba. He left them alone with nothing. They were going to have to survive on their own. "Listen Mokuba, there's nothing that can bring dad back, no matter how hard you cry."_

_"Will...will...you leave me Seto? Because I cry too much?" Mokuba asked pleadingly._

_"No, I'll never leave you alone." Seto said._

_"Promise?" _

_"Promise." _

********

  


Death never seemed to be so hard for Seto. He'd seen it many times to the point that it he felt nothing towards it. But now as he stood here with her it changed.

"It's not your fault." Seto said calmly to her. 

"You can't possibly know that!" she said angrily. 

"I do..." Seto said, who didn't seem to mind her anger towards him. 

"No, you don't. How can you?" she said. No one understood her, not even him. 

"My parents were buried in this very same cemetery." he said. He saw the surprised look on her face. "And I give the fact that I know more then you think." he didn't have an arrogant expression like he usually did when he proved that he was right.

Vari didn't know what to say. She had been so secluded, withdraw from the rest of the world that nothing mattered to her anymore. Was this how Seto felt all the time? If it was then how did he deal with it all his life?

"It isn't like you to be so angry." Seto said. "So don't be."

"I'm so sorry Seto." She felt a rain drop on her nose. The sky was growing darker. 

"It's alright." 

They were suddenly quiet, not knowing what else to say. Seto looked straight at her, deeply examining her features. She had the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen. They were green with a hint of turquoise. Her tears made them shimmer with brilliance. He'd seen those eyes before...

"I never notice how beautiful your eyes were." he said softly. He touched her cheek, feeling lost and sinking deeper and deeper into them. Then he did something that was unexpected. He slowly leaned over and kissed her. His lips brushing against hers. 

Vari felt shocked for a second but soon melted against him. His lips were sweet. All of her sadness and despair she felt just floated away. 

What seemed like an eternity was just a minute. She suddenly pulled away from him with a stunned expression, unable to comprehend what had just happened. The sky began to fall with raindrops. 

Seto was silent. There was nothing that could explain what he just did. It was an impulsive move and he knew it.

"Seto..." Vari began, but he cut her off.

"We should go. It's going to pour." he said quickly and began walking towards the limo. "I can drive you home if you want."

Vari stood near her father's grave one last time then slowly she followed Seto into the car. 

  
  
  


Author's Notes: This chapter was very angst. The kiss between Seto and Vari was very hard to incorporate into the story. I had a little trouble with the story line and people's personal reactions on tragic deaths. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter. I mentioned way back, that I would do another Seto flashback scene and so I kept my promise with a scene of when Seto was young thinking back to when both his parents died.

Next chapter - - Chapter 17 - The Amulet

You can go ponder what's going to happen next...

  


Thanks to the people who reviewed. I hope you review again. 

A note to MoonbeamMarik - Your ideas are not far from what I had planned. With changes here and there. But there's still yet to be things that will shock you later on in the story.

Read and Review! I want to know what you think. 


	18. Interlude 1 Character Profile

I've decided to put up a little character profile as a side bonus to the story. Think of it as an interlude. This will give a more in depth look on the original characters and their history. 

  


Characters from the show:

  


Yugi Moto

Tea Gardner (Anzu)

Joey Wheeler (Jonouchi)

Tristen Taylor (Honda)

Solomon Moto (Grandpa)

Seto Kaiba 

Mokuba Kaiba

Shadi

Marik Ishtar (Malik)

Ishizu Ishtar (Isis)

Odeon Ishtar (Rishid)

Bakura (Ryou Bakura)

  


Original Characters:

  


Vari Mayoto 

Birthday: 4/15/1987

Height: 5'6"

Weight: 110 lb

Hair Color: Raven Black

Eye Color: Turquoise Green

Personality: Vari is usually a nice girl to hang around with. But watch out, she doesn't take kindly to anyone who insults her. She can have a very sharp tongue and would give you the finger in a matter of seconds. If you really piss her off, just be lucky if your arm isn't broken. She can withstand physical pain rather then emotional and would often be a little too impulsive when bad situations kick in. She's the type that doesn't like to be pushed around nor does she like perverts, bullies, or guys with an attitude problem, (Well...maybe bend the rules for Seto Kaiba. Who could resist those baby blues?) 

Background: An only child to Shiro and Maaya Mayoto. She was born in Domino City, Japan, but has never been to school there until recently. She travels with her parents around the world to excavations sites since she was little. Some of the places she's been to are France, Spain, India, Mongolia, China, and Egypt. She consistently jumps from one country to another and has transferred to at least 10 different schools in her lifetime. Needless to say, she has a screwed up transcript. 

She has spent 3 years in China, during her father's research for his book "The Clashes of Civilizations" During her time there she discovered an old monastery up near the mountains in a village in Beijing. There she trained with monks in the style of Kung-Fu and Tai-Chi. She has never used her skills as offence, only when she is threaten and has no other choice. She has been to Egypt 2 times. The first time she lived there for a year when she was six. The second time she lived there for three. Friends are hard to come by, so she really doesn't have a lot. She has never kept in touch with anyone. It wasn't until recently that she moved to Domino City, that she made some real friends, Yugi, Joey, Tristen, and Tea. She can speak a couple of languages. Japanese is her native language, but she also knows English, Spanish, Chinese, and even a little French and Arabic.

  


Shiro Mayoto

Birthday: 2/05/1960 

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 152 lb

Hair Color: Charcoal Black 

Eye Color: Dark Brown 

Personality: Hard working and an overachiever. He could work his body until the brink of exhaustion. He is friendly and helpful, but also a little impulsive when situations get out of control (and you wonder where Vari get's it from?). He could be a forgetful when indulged in his work. But you can always count on Shiro to make it up to you afterwards. 

Background: Shiro became an archeologist by the age of 21. His interest in history and anthropology made him one of the brightest researchers of all time. He has published seven books in his life, three of which were top sellers and made his name known all over the world.

When he was 23 years old he met his future wife Maaya. They bumped into each other on a trip to Prague, Czech Republic while Shiro was exploring the city. Like all young couples they fell madly in love with each other at first sight. After two years of being together, Shiro proposed to her in the same exact place they've met in Prague. They've been together ever since, until his unfortunate death.

Most of Shiro's interest of being an archeologist was influenced by the famous Solomon Moto. During the height of Grandpa's exploration days, Shiro became fascinated with adventure and discoveries. He didn't feel like the type to sit around being a college professor when all he wanted to do was to take on the world. He has done many explorations and excavations with Solomon Moto in Egypt, his favorite place. Shiro considers him to be a teacher, mentor, and close friend. 

From his recent excavation in Egypt, strange occurrences have been happening even for him. It could be his imagination but he swore he saw a white hair man from a distance, staring intently at him at Giza. Wonder what that could be about? 

  


Maaya Mayoto (Maiden Name: Mizuki)

Birthday: 3/14/1962

Height: 5'4"

Weight: 120 lb

Hair Color: Hazel Brown

Eye Color: Deep Blue 

Personality: Maaya is very protective of her family. She is often a worrywart with Shiro and Vari and would really be annoying that way (I guess that's why Shiro doesn't tell her anything...) She is friendly and a great cook. Everyone welcomes her aboard on an expedition because that way they won't starve to death with scraps of can food in their backpacks. Loving and kind, she would do anything for her friends and family in any way. 

Background: Maaya was born into an upper class family. From her youth she felt that she was being locked in closed doors by her overprotective parents, whom she had not have contact for many years from when she married Shiro. (Although she does have a little of her parent's personality, even if she doesn't realize it.) 

As a temporary escape from her parents she went to Prague to enjoy herself throughly, what she'd never expect was to fall in love. She met Shiro while sight seeing the Narodni Galerie Museum as they literally bumped into each other accidentally. It was as if fate intended on them meeting at the exact same moment. Shiro took her around the world with him, much to her parents disapproval. She became fascinated, just like him, on exploring and going on new adventures everyday. She had enough of being stuck in her prison cell and decided to follow Shiro wherever he goes. After 2 years of being together he proposed to her the way most girls dreamed of being proposed to. Let's just said her parents weren't too happy about it. Quoting "That hooligan will lead you to trouble!" (As if we listen to our parents?)

From then on Maaya went on many archeological expeditions, seeing things not many people see everyday. But after a while she was ready to settle down in a nice comforting life, without having her hair full of dirt everyday. 

  
  


Author's Notes: Well there you have it. A brief glimpse of the Mayoto family. I felt that I didn't give that much of a character development for them so I hope this will help you understand where I'm going at. I'll write a second Interlude for my other OC characters, the ones that you didn't get to know much about. Some hints will be included as well, for future chapters.

  


Read and Review (EVEN IF YOU REVIEWED BEFORE!) Thanks to all who added me on their favorite stories list! You people actually put this story as a favorite? Were you drunk when you did it? J/K ^_^ *grins*

Thanks to all of you, you've made me love writing again...


	19. Chapter 17 The Amulet

Disclaimer: Yugioh does not belong to me. 

Yami: Is it just me or do you sound grumpy?

Luna14: *Gives him a death glare* I've just been working on my freakin school work for the last 4 hours. Plus finishing this chapter. 

Yami: *Mutters to the readers* She's a little gumpy right now...Maybe we can cheer her up by giving her reviews.

Luna14: *About ready to throw a pencil at someone*

Yami: *Scampers away*

  
  


Chapter 17 - The Amulet 

  
  


Shadi strolled through the streets of Domino City with his hands casually behind his back. People walked by him as if he was invisible, like a ghost or spirit that wandered from a different realm. 

"I sense great power in this city." he whispered. 

He examined his surroundings cautiously. He kept on walking until he reached a secluded area a few blocks away from the Domino Museum. His eyes scanned the area, searching for someone. When he spotted him he released the powers from his millennium ankh. His form reappeared in plain sight. 

"Thank you for meeting me." he said in a greeting manner. 

His comrade jumped from behind. He stared blankly at Shadi who was not there a moment ago. "You really should stop doing that." he said irritably. 

"I apologize." Shadi said calmly. "You've been keeping a close eye on things have you not?"

"Yes. It's about time you came. Strange occurrences are happening. Things have been getting worse and worse."

Shadi gave a heavy sigh. "The unfortunate death of Shiro Mayoto, no doubt disturbs me. His daughter must be devastated."

"I wouldn't exactly know would I?" he said sourly.

Shadi gave a tiny smile in amusement, but his face quickly turned serious. "The time will come soon when we must face our greatest fears. Let us hope they can find their past lives before it's too late."

  


******** 

  


She tossed and turned in her bed. Her eyes squinting with an upset indication of a nightmare. 

_She stood in a darkened alleyway. The brick walls closed between her in a tight narrow passage. She heard a faint distant voice. _

_"Ishizu will come to you..."_

_She swivelled her head around eagerly trying to find the voice. "Dad?" she called out. But he was not there. _

_"The chest..."_

_"Where are you dad!?" she called out through the narrow alleyway. _

_"It's your destiny Vari..." the voice said again. _

_"Dad! Come back! I can't see you!" Vari searched desperately. Her father had to be around here somewhere. "Where are you!?" she called again. There was no answer. She waited a couple of more minutes. Nothing. She became angry from the fact that he wasn't answering her. _

_Suddenly she heard two booming gunshots. _

_"Dad!" she screamed. _

Her body shot up from the bed. She was shaking all over. Her heart beating fast against her chest. The sound of the gunshots still rung in her ears.

Her father's warning swam in her mind. _"Dad what were you trying to say?"_

  


_********_

  


It's been days since the funeral. The police still did not find any leads to the murderer. Vari couldn't help but give a distinct feeling that they laughed at her description of the murderer.

"I'm sorry but we just couldn't identify any man with a purple cloak. There have been no reports of such a man. And since there wasn't a face description, it could be anybody."

Her mother gave a sad sigh. "Please officer isn't there anything else that wasn't searched?" 

"What about that emblem of the eye on the cloak. Isn't that something?" Vari asked. 

"We've searched every list for any sightings on the emblem. So far no one has spotted anything. Our best guesses are the murderer was part of some kind of group or gang. We are looking into it.

Vari felt her frustration building. She had been holding back her anger until now. "Your people are such idiots! You have been investigating for days and all you come up with is that!? Who the hell do you think you are!?"

"Miss Mayoto please! We are trying our very best. We have men working on this case day and night." the officer said getting a little angry. __

"Yeah? WELL I DON'T THINK YOUR WORKING HARD ENOUGH!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Everyone around the police station lifted their heads up and stared at them.

"Vari please stop it!" Maaya scolded harshly, noticing all the stares. "They're trying all they could." 

"I can't stop it mom. If no one is going to bring the man who killed my father down. Then I'm going to do it myself!" she stomped away. 

"Vari wait!" Maaya cried out, but Vari didn't listen, she walked out of the police station.

  


********

  


Seto paced around in his office at Kaiba Corp. His laptop was left opened, on the desk and strangely unused. Days have already passed when he met with Vari at the cemetery. They did not talked to each other since. He remembered the awkward silence when he drove her home. She didn't say anything, or was trying not to say anything. Seto was also just as quiet. 

As he looked out from his office building his mind was mixed with confusion. __

_"I shouldn't have kissed her." _he thought. It was a compulsive decision, which on his part went against his rules of not going all emotional. Emotion showed weakness. It was better not to get attached to anyone, or else you'll pay for it in the end. Well... at least in the cooperate world that's how the way things work. 

_"I was such an idiot."_ he couldn't help but curse himself repeatedly. 

He didn't want to think about it anymore and decided to just focus on whatever was planned for the tournament finals. But her face came into his mind again. Those beautiful green eyes and soft black hair. 

He couldn't help but feel empty inside.

  


********

  


Ishizu Ishtar walked discreetly down the neighborhood until she found the house she had been looking for. Her millennium item gave a faint glow. Satisfied that she had found the right house she rung the doorbell. It took a couple of minutes and a few more rings until the door finally opened. It was Vari who opened the door.

Vari looked strangely at her with puzzlement. The women look Egyptian, dark tan skin with a simple white dress robe on her, trim with a bit of gold on the edges of her sleeves and collar. 

"You are Vari Mayoto." she it more as a fact then a question. 

"Yes?" Vari looked suspiciously at her. "How do you know my name?" 

"My name is Ishizu Ishtar. I worked with your father at the museum before he died."

_"Ishizu?"_ Vari eyes widen. Her father said that name to her. 

"By that look on your face, you already know who I am." Ishizu said. 

"My father mentioned you." she said quietly.

From there Ishizu quickly went to business, there wasn't much time. "I come to you in a matter of great importance."

Vari narrowed her eyes fixedly on Ishizu. Why would she come to her with something that sounded so urgent? She was merely a high school girl. Could it be possible that she would have answers about the murderer? 

Vari felt like saying _"Go away."_ She didn't want to deal with any more problems then she already had. But the thought of how she might be able to help bring down the murderer of her father was the only thing clear in her mind. She opened the door for her. "Come in."

"Is anyone with you at home?" Ishizu asked, clutching the handle of a suitcase that she was carrying close to her.

"No." Vari replied, since she ditched her mother at the police station. 

"Good." said Ishizu. "What I'm going to talk to you about is for your ears only." They went inside the living room. Ishizu gently placed the suitcase on the coffee table. 

"You know who killed my father. Don't you?" she blurted out so suddenly even she didn't realize it. There was no point in bringing it up.

Ishizu stood calmly, without even flinching at her sudden question. "There is no reason to deny the death of your father." she said sadly. "But as of now, you are not ready to hear the whole truth." 

Vari felt a crushing blow. She became frustrated and angry. "What truth? I'm tired of this nonsense! I want answers! I don't want everyone hiding everything from me!" 

Ishizu couldn't help but pity the poor girl. "What you feel now is pain. But you can't let that pain take over you." She opened the suitcase containing the gold chest protected in a foam covering. "I give this to you." She took the chest out and placed it on the coffee table. The gold gleamed with a high amount of splendor. Anyone who looked at it couldn't help but feel it's beauty. 

"This was the project my father was working on." Vari said. "Why am I getting it?"

"Because it belongs to you." Ishizu explained. 

"No it doesn't." The whole thing was absurd. How can it belong to her when it should be in the museum? 

"I tell you the truth." Ishizu said. "I'm not here to deceive you."

"How can I believe you? I hardly know you." Vari glared suspiciously. 

"Maybe you will believe me if I give you this." She took a small leather book out from one of the pockets in the suitcase and handed it to her. Her father's journal. 

"Where did you get this?" she asked amazed. She stroke the leather covering with the initials S. M on it. It was her father's alright. 

"Your father told me to give it to you before he died."

Vari stared at the journal in her hands. The image of her father came back into clear view. A tear rolled down her cheek. 

"Your father knew it was your destiny. He only wanted to protected you until the time came." Ishizu said gently.

"What's my destiny? Tell me I want to know!" Vari pleaded. "Tell me why is this happening to me?" 

"I must go now. I can't stay here any longer." Ishizu reached for the door.

Vari chased after her. "Wait! You can't go now! I need you to tell me!" 

"Deep down you know already. The chest belongs to you. Protect it. I foresee that we will meet again soon." Ishizu turned and walked out. 

Vari felt too exhausted to pursue her anymore. Everything was cluttered in her head with questions upon questions. She saw her exit then turned her attention back to the journal and the chest. It sat there on the table. She cocked her head to the side, unsure of what to do. 

"Great, she just up and leaves me with this." Vari grumbled. "What the hell am I suppose to do with it?" 

She examined the box all around. It was no doubt, beautifully crafted. Pictures and symbols carved across, column by column. Not that she knew what it said or what it meant. She knew many languages but hieroglyphics wasn't one of them. 

Suddenly she felt something strange. An irresistible urge that drew her close to it. Bewildered by the feeling, she touched the top latch of the box. It gave a faint glow. Vari quickly pulled her hand away and gasped. 

"What the..." 

She touched the latch again with curiosity. It started to glow brighter. Then without warning her hand was stuck on it like glue. She couldn't pull away. It began to glow even brighter to the point that it blinded her eyes. She felt a heat rush up from her hand and surged through her body. It was overwhelming. She saw the box giving off sparks as if it was going to explode any second. 

But it didn't explode. Her hand was suddenly released as an energy wave pushed her onto the floor. She landed with a painful thud. The latch began to twist and turn like a puzzle cube. Vari just stared, more with fascination then fear. 

Then the latch opened. Her father had spent months trying to unlock it's secrets, she had done it with merely the touch of her magic hand. The credibility of it all was ironic. 

The box beamed with increasing power. She could feel it pulling her, closer and closer, she cautiously walked over until she was just an inch away. Her hand shook as she slowly reached over. She lifted the cover and gasp. 

Inside was the most beautiful amulet she had ever seen. It was made out of pure gold. On it was a scarab beetle crafted in the middle of the millennium eye symbol. It held a emerald gem that dangled from the middle. The chain was beaded blue halfway, the rest was gold.

Vari took it out, examining it all over. So many problems from such a small object. She could hardly believe it all. Ishizu said before it was her destiny. Was this small necklace her destiny? She had half a mind to chuck it out to sea. This thing caused her nothing but grief and pain, but yet she kept it and walked over to the mirror and placed it on her neck. She would bear all the troubles from it and in the end she'll find the one who killed her father no matter what.

  
  


Author's Notes: I finally got rid of that annoying "the chest" title. Of course you must be happy to find out what's inside, not that it was such a secret. And surprise, surprise. Shadi is back again. Is anyone a Shadi fan? I hardly ever see him in any fics at all, even the ones that writes about ancient Egypt. I think he's cool and mysterious. And he pops out of nowhere in the TV series. Quiet amazing how he appears and disappears. What's up with that? Does anyone know anything about Shadi? He was a priest in the Ancient Egypt Arc manga, that much I know. 

Now there's the question of what Vari is going to do next. And let's just say it's going to be a whole lot of trouble. Might get her killed in fact. 

*Gasp* Would Luna14 really kill off Vari? 

*Evil grin* Stick around to find out.

You know what to do, click on that button on the bottom and review!

. 


	20. Author's Notice

Author's Notice– 10-23-03

  


Sorry to say that this isn't the next chapter. I'm sure your all very disappointed when you see "Author's Notice" on the chapter selection. But hear me out...

It's been roughly 2 weeks and I don't think the chapter is going to come out any sooner. I'm sure you've all been through busy schedules. School, jobs, etc... For me this month is a very busy month because of school work, college applications and extracurricular activities. When I get home I'm too tired to write. Plus I have an art portfolio due for an interview and I'm furiously trying to finishing my art pieces before the deadline. 

But it is being written (I'm writing it now as we speak) I have written almost half of the chapter, hitting a couple of writer blocks along the way, so it's a little tough. I hope to make it a long and well written chapter because I hate seeing chapters just thrown in without clearly thinking it out. So I'm here to point out that I'm not dead and I'm not going to stop writing. I'll finish the story sooner or later. If I'm gone for a month then you'll know that I'm extremely busy...etc... 

  


A side note:

  


Towards writing the middle of the story I started playing with the idea of writing a sequel but then it turned into a prequel about Ancient Egypt and how it all plays into the story I'm currently writing now. So here I am trying to decide if I should write it. Here's what I have so far:

  


(Preview Summary)

Egypt...the land of riches. Once a vast nation of wealth and power through ancient times. From here tells the untold story of an unorthodox princess, who was compassionate and strong and earn her the title as "The Benevolent Goddess" in the eyes of her people. Some named her Sithathor (daughter of Hathor) others Neferet (beautiful woman), but in her royal family household she was simply Vari. 

Through dynasties of kings and rulers, none were like a young Pharaoh named Yami who was wise beyond his years and peaceful ruler of his time. But as war brews between Egyptians and demons he faces the ominous destiny of his birth right as the weight of responsibilities grows heavier on his shoulders. Consulted by his six loyal high priests and wields the power of the millennium items passed on to them by his father. Ancient Duel Monsters were their guardians, controlling them through heka (magic) and ka (spirit souls) The fate for this young pharaoh is not yet clear. 

Always strong and always seeking ways to surpass his abilities. High priest Seto wields the power of the millennium rod. Friends of Yami from childhood, his harsh exterior hides his inner feelings from the common eyes of others, until he falls in love with a certain princess shielded from him by her father. 

Vari and her forbidden love affair between the young priest of Egypt sprung her free from morals, rules and society. They both learn the meanings of love and their pure souls. The choice between love or duty kept them apart as they struggle with troubles laid before them and a threatening war on the nation. No one can escape it's harsh winds, not for the young king, not for the beautiful princess or even the man that she loves.

Who is to say what destiny lies for them all? 

  


Okay the summary sounds like a cheesy romance novel...but eh...call me a romantic. I love romance stories! ^_^ Remember the Prologue? Well this weaves in and out from that particular moment. This is still a rough draft of what I'm planning. Some things may be changed indefinitely. I based this on the Egyptian Arc Manga of Yugioh, but one thing their lacking is a good romance. And I mean a REAL romance, not some subtly hidden crush on each other. 

You can give feedback and ideas! I'll be happy to credit you if I find your ideas are really good and can really contribute to the story so please feel free to tell me your ideas or your point of view. 

  


Anyway...enough blabbering from me. It's late and I'm high on sugar and caffeine @_@ I will post the next chapter of Yugioh the Wakening hopefully as soon as I can!

Thanks for being patient!

-Luna14


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